Who I Am
by AbstractRainbow
Summary: It only started out as a fateful holiday season... and a few words that could change everything. Warnings: F/F Temporary Hiatus
1. Ch1: Who I am

First of all

_First of all...  
__**Disclaimer:**__ Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all things therein belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy, not me. I hold no claim on them, and gain nothing but my own satisfaction from using them. IE I'm just borrowing them, I'll return 'em later, and I'm not making any money off of it.  
I don't have any money, I'm just a poor college student. Please don't sue me._

And quite importantly: _**Feed the Author!**__ I need the ego boost._

This story starts out many years after the last episode. It does not, however, include the season 8 comic books, as I began writing it before they came out, and their storyline would not be easily worked into this one… so cannon at the BEGINNING up through the end of season 7.

_As well, though it starts out at Christmas, it is nowhere near being just a Christmas Story, and will eventually work into being season rewrites._

She hunched a little into herself, tucking cold hands into her pockets and away from the bite of the wind. Around her lights twinkled and colors shone; merry songs played from almost every shop. Children with their parents laughed and toted packages to their cars. Life, as they knew it, was wonderful, with only their own simple problems to worry over.

Faith might have been like them, somehow, in another life. Perhaps she could have in this life even. After that last battle with the First, and the _Great Choosing_, as Red's spell had come to be called, she could have moved on and lived a mostly normal life. Like Buffy had. No, she hadn't though. She couldn't bring herself to even consider it. Faith had only just gotten out of jail, only just begun her repentance. And she had never quit. 15 whole years of the "good fight" and she hadn't ever given it up.

As she walked along, she tried to ignore the twinkling lights and bright decorations, blocking the songs from sticking in her mind. That was exactly what she needed, to start whistling Jingle Bells or Silent Night in the middle of patrol... even if Silent Night itself would be amusingly ironic.

Suddenly something buzzed from one of her pockets, breaking her from her internal musings, and then moved on to ring out with a fuzzy recording of "_I wanna fuck you like an animal... I wanna feel you from the inside..._". More than one parent nearby glared at her in reprimand as they hurried their children away. She merely smiled and internally cursed the day that she'd let Red fool with the device.

"What?"

"Ever the cheerful greeting, Faith?" A familiar voice said over the line, startling the woman into stopping. Faith quickly found an alcove out of the wind to talk. "Is that how you talk to everyone during the holidays?"

"Only when it's windy and cold as fuck outside, B. What's up?" She leaned against the brick wall of the small alley and looked out at the passing people. "Big bad? New girl need getting? Another renegade?"

"Hm, I don't know. Don't think so..." Buffy's voice actually sounded genuinely confused and thoughtful. It wasn't like the times she had merely bantered in a flirtatious manner before delivering what the latest job was. So Faith merely waited for Buffy to get to the point.

The two original slayers had gotten along, eventually even as pretty good friends, with time. Nevertheless, they still had their arguments, some of them more violent than others, and the last time they'd spoken and seen each other had been one of those fights...

_"I don't get it Faith. What've you got to prove? It's been years, Faith. Years! Don't you think it's time to settle down?" Buffy's expression warred between concerned and angry. When Faith didn't answer, it settled on anger, and she grapped the brunette's collar and fored their eyes together. "You could get hurt, killed! There are plenty of slayers now, Faith. Not just you and me. Not just new, wet-behind-the-ears kids, but trained, capable slayers. They can handle it. Let them have their sacred duty. You're older than any slayer before us ever was. It's time to retire."_

Faith just looked quietly at Buffy, fighting the urge to throw her off or kiss her. It was a hard battle to even decide which she'd have rather done. "Ya just don't get it, B. I can't."

They hadn't come to blows, but more than once Faith had lost her cool and started yelling right back. Her mind was pulled back from the memory by a sudden shout over the phone.

"FAITH! Have you even heard a single word that I've said?" Faith, confused and a bit embarrassed, made a small grunt that sounded much more like she hadn't even understood that. "It really is windy over there, isn't it? I was trying to ask what you were doing for Christmas."

Buffy's voice had gotten louder, trying to speak over the supposed wind, and Faith had to smile at that. "I'll probably just go down to the kid's shelter again and play elf." Faith said with a groan as she answered, already expecting the resulting giggle. She couldn't believe it either.

"I... I mean We, were wondering if you'd come out to visit. Andrew said that he'd arrange for the ticket." Buffy sounded hopeful, but from the grunt she suspected that someone was there and had pinched her at that first mistake, but her voice was cheery. Faith, however, was surprised into silence at the request. "Wills and her new girlfriend are coming too, and Dawn's boyfriend is helping Xander to cook."

"I... um..." Faith finally managed, leaning her head against the wall behind her and turning it to look again at the passing families and shoppers.

"Faith..." Buffy's voice was quiet, and it sounded like she was whispering as she found a new place to talk. "Faith, please come. It's really not just Dawn and Xander or Willow. We all want you to come. I want you to come. I... I miss you Faith. At least think about it? Please?"

"Hey, B, ya sound all weepy." Faith said in a teasing manner with a smirk that reached her voice, but glossy eyes. "You know you can count on me. Have him call me tomorrow and set up a flight, okay. I gotta get goin." She paused and could just imagine Buffy nodding along. The blonde always nodded when she was on the phone, as if the other person could see.

"That's great! Okay, so I'll see you soon? Oh, um, Dawn says Hi."

"Yeah, sure." Faith smiled genuinely as she pushed off fo the wall. "And B?"

She heard the blonde's hesitation in the next word, "Yeah?"

"I miss you too." She could just feel the older slayer's smile, and said a quick goodbye before hanging up.

TBC


	2. Ch2: hates who I've been

Disclaimer in Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer in Chapter 1.**__  
Short Chapter Alert!_

_This story was inspired by the Reliant K song "Who I am Hates Who I've Been", which struck me as an excellent Fuffy song in and of itself. Disclaimer: I do not own the copywrite to these lyrics and gain nothing, especially not monetary compensation, for the use of them here._

I watched the proverbial sunrise  
coming up over the Pacific and  
you might think I'm losing my mind,  
but I will shy away from the specifics...

'cause I don't want you to know where I am  
'cause then you'll see my heart  
in the saddest state it's ever been.

This is no place to try and live my life.

Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.  
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.  
Stop right there. Well I never should have said  
that it's the very moment that  
I wish that I could take back.

I'm sorry for the person I became.  
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.  
I'm ready to try and never become that way again  
'cause who I am hates who I've been.  
Who I am hates who I've been.

I talk to absolutely no one.  
Couldn't keep to myself enough.  
And the things bottled inside have finally begun  
to create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up.

I heard the reverberating footsteps  
sinking up to the beating of my heart,  
and I was positive that unless I got myself together,  
I would watch me fall apart.

And I can't let that happen again  
cause then you'll see my heart  
in the saddest state it's ever been.

This is no place to try and live my life.

Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.  
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.  
Stop right there. Well I never should have said  
that it's the very moment that  
I wish that I could take back.

Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.  
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.  
Stop right there. Well I never should have said  
that it's the very moment that  
I wish that I could take back.

I'm sorry for the person I became.  
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.  
I'm ready to try and never become that way again  
'cause who I am hates who I've been.  
Who I am hates who I've been.

Who I am hates who I've been  
and who I am won't take the second chance you gave me.  
Who I am hates who I've been  
cause who I've been only ever made me...

So sorry for the person I became.  
So sorry that it took so long for me to change.  
I'm ready to try and never become that way again  
cause who I am hates who I've been.  
Who I am hates who I've been.

Faith was in an uncommonly good mood. She wasn't exactly a sour, angry person all of the time. In fact she rather tried to enjoy life. But a bounce was in her step and a happy smirk on her face. She even waved and nodded to the children that seemed to notice and smile at her. Those little words, not only from Buffy, but saying them back, had just felt so good. Though Buffy often told her that the past was past and that they were better than okay now, Faith was always afraid of screwing things up again.

And yet, somehow, she hadn't. They had their fights, but they always eventually made up again. Usually the fights were over the same thing, her unwillingness to give up slaying. Buffy just didn't understand what made Faith **have** to slay. She didn't understand that it really was a Calling, a sacred duty, to her. She knew, deep in her gut, that even with all of the other slayers that existed now, she made a difference, however small. She had to fight, to slay. She wanted to help people. And so long as she was capable of her Slayer duties, she would stick to them. Buffy had never wanted to be a Slayer in the first place, and hadn't nearly enjoyed it as much as Faith had. It wasn't her calling, and because of that, she didn't understand why, though there were countless other slayers to take up the fight now, Faith wouldn't give it up. After all, even as a slayer, she wasn't as young as she used to be, and healing and energy took longer now.

But with all of those differences and their past aside, Buffy had asked her to come for Christmas. With all of those things, Buffy still missed her. She smiled and couldn't help but start whistling as she spun a stake in her hand, strolling along at a liesurely pace. She wasn't really looking for much action on tonight's patrol, and thus didn't mind warning whatever bloodsuckers might be around that a very happy slayer was in their midst. Maybe she'd still drop by Elm though, some of the nastier vamps liked to prey on carolers there.

Faith was surprised though, when she turned the corner, and saw a girl of about ten or eleven walking down the sidewalk, and paying close attention to the street. Obviously, she wasn't paying close enough attention, because as a rather large delivery truck, with the Macy's logo on it, came speeding down the street, she ran out just in front of it. The dark-haired slayer didn't even think about it before she dropped her stake and ran, full tilt, at them. She barely managed to get there in time, the truck's breaks screaming, to push the girl out of the way. Buffy had been right, it was dangerous... but she'd have done this anyway, even if she wasn't an active slayer anymore.

The driver was quick to jump out and check on both she and the girl, and in a panic ran to find a phone and call the ambulance. Faith knew that something was wrong when she saw the girl, barely ruffled, staring at her. She couldn't breathe well, and she couldn't feel her legs at all. There was a dull ache to her head, but she expected that after being hit full on by a truck. "You... you..."

"Hey, don't sweat it kid." Her voice was gurgly and came out broken, which surprised her yet more. She must have really fucked up this time. Buffy was gonna kill her once she healed. When the girl crawled over and didn't dare to touch or move her more than brush some bloody hair out of Faith's face, the slayer worried yet more. Just how bad off was she.

"You shouldn't have saved me... I deserve to die." The kid? The kid was saying that. Faith struggled to sit up so that she could convince the girl not to think that, but found she could barely move her head to frown at her. "I... I've done terrible things."

"Hey, don't... don't say stuff like that." Faith had to force the words out. Her eyes felt so heavy, but she wasn't going to pass out. Not after learning that the girl really had run in front of the truck on purpose. Not until she was sure that the kid wouldn't try it again. "I... I've probably done worse than you ever could, kid." She chuckled a bit, but it only brought on some violent coughs, and she was surprised to taste blood in her mouth afterward. "I... hell... I wanna take back more than you could imagine. I hate who I've been. But dying ain't the answer." The girl shook her head and tried to quiet the slayer, but Faith, as ever, was being stubborn... to her last breath. "Hell kid... I... I wish I knew then what I know now." Her voice was far too quiet as she said that, and as Faith realized that the dark fading in around her vision wasn't her closing her eyes, she sent a last thought out to Buffy, that, once again, she was sorry.

The girl, looked sadly down at her savior, a jade pendant around her neck glowing. In an odd echo of Anya, she held back her tears and closed her eyes. "Done."

TBC


	3. Ch3: Then is Now

Another: Short Chapter Alert

_Another: Short Chapter Alert!_

Faith shot up, her vision still darkened, gasping for air. She could see a hazy light, and smelled... oddly enough, the musky, dust smell of sheets that had been washed and lain on a bed far too long ago, and never touched again. Coughing and gasping for air still, she struggled, flailing around, and threw the sheets off. Her eyes were wide and feral, and she glared about the room. Hadn't she just been dead, and seen a bright light and sweet scents ahead of her? Now she was in a dingy motel room... that smelled further of alcohol, sweat, and death, not just the smell of the sheets. Her eyes focused on a slightly busted TV set on an old wooden dresser... next to a short, ten-year-old girl wearing a jade necklace.

"What the fuck!" She knew this place... knew it all too well, and never wanted to return.

"I'm sorry... I thought you should be brought back somewhere comfortable, after what just happened to you."

Faith's eyes narrowed and she glared at the girl, then, in shock, looked down at herself. She was whole, uninjured, and presumably safe. What had just happened? Again she glared at the girl, this time jumping out of the bed and taking a defensive stance. A demon... "What the fuck are you?"

"Temper... language... not appropriate for children." The voice was teasing, but the cheery smile and teasing nature was hollow, and the girl's eyes empty. When Faith raised a brow at her, and didn't otherwise move, the 'girl' looked away, not daring to even glance at the mirror near her. "I... I **was** a vengeance demon. I," there was a shuddering sigh there. "I was cursed with a soul. The... the things I've done." The creature shivered, and didn't stop.

"Fuck that." Faith said standing, glaring still but not as if she were about to fight. The girl jumped slightly and turned to stare. "Couldn't'a been worse than Anya ever did, and the Scoobies all took her in. Hell, demons don't have souls, and I've done a shitload **with** one. Getting yourself dead," Faith shook her head and searched around in the jacket on the bed for her cigarettes. "that's just taking the easy way out. You pay for your deeds, and you learn the right road. That's what I did, and look at me now." Faith gestured herself, still searching. Then, she thought twice about that. "Nevermind. I look worse than I really am."

"You died saving a stupid little girl from getting hit by a truck." The creature told her softly, then smiled sadly at Faith. "I... I **was** a vengeance demon. We grant wishes. And you, Faith, made a wish just before you died."

Faith, realizing that the cigarettes weren't in her jacket pocket like they should be, merely frowned at her. "Then I take it back. Demons and wishes don't mix." The girl winced, and Faith wished she'd put that more nicely. After all, the thing did have a soul now, like Angel. "Sorry kid. Listen, last thing that I, or B, needs is for my hotheaded teenage self to suddenly acquire all of the knowledge that I have over time, memories, hurts, and all. It'd drive me mad, or at least make me lash out if it didn't, and B was goin' through a rough time back then... I mean now... I mean back now... whatever. Going back to causing all sorts of chaos by wish granting isn't gonna make you feel any better, yeah?"

The girl hopped down from where she sat on the dresser, sidled over, and gave her a big, but sad smile. "I know. That's why I want you to take this. It's up to you, to get things to change, and what exactly you knew then what you know now." The kid removed the teardrop shaped jade pendant from around her neck, and handed it over. "If you can get your younger self to put that on, everything that you want her to know immediately with flash through her head, and you can guide her through her new memories. The rest, well, that will be triggered by something in time for her to make a choice as to if she can change it or not. But... once you have given her the necklace, and guided her through the first memories... you will return to where you were going when I pulled you into this new dimension."

"If... if you're tellin' the truth..." Faith's eyes widened, and then narrowed as she looked at the girl. "How do I know you're tellin' the truth?"

"Because if I wasn't, you wouldn't have had to save me. If I wasn't, your memories would have flooded into your younger self at the worst possible moment, and you'd have gone insane. And if I am, it means a second chance... a real second chance."

"Good luck with that soul." Faith said quietly as the girl disappeared, and she merely stared at the thing in her hands.

TBC


	4. Ch4: Facing Things in Time

Where this story was first put up, when I was just beginning to write it, had a bit of a glitch in the system when doing so

_Where this story was first put up, when I was just beginning to write it, had a bit of a glitch in the system when doing so. Thus, the first three or four chapters were deleted the first time I posted it. During that timeframe, there was a bit of confusion on what exactly happened starting out, so with a little rewriting, I added the first part of this chapter in._

_For those of you that already understand, congratulations, feel free to skip past Faith's musings… and I apologize if it seems like a piece of a different puzzle dropped into this one (in other words, because it wasn't originally meant to be here, it may seem a bit out of place)_

_  
Alrighty then, here goes...  
Disclaimers in first chapter._

Faith was, of course, still sitting on the very edge of the bed. She hadn't moved out of the room to explore and see if it was, indeed, the same motel that all of her senses screamed at her that it was. She was leaned forward, head bent to stare blankly at the object in her hands. She didn't really see it, or anything at all. Her gaze remained unfocused, her concentration solely in her mind.

_Okay... so what happened... What happened? I was on patrol. I know I was on patrol, but I wasn't doing a good job cause I wanted to get home and pack, to go visit B for Christmas._ Even that small thought brought the barest of smiles to Faith's lips. _Alright, that's straight. I know that happened. Then, I'm walking down the street, and I see a truck and a kid... and the kid runs out in front of the truck..._ Faith paused again and frowned down at the pendant in her hands. _Now that was stupid. Yeah, I had to save her, just in case... but what kid, what real kid, would be out that late to run around in traffic, at least without parents? Whatever, it happened, can't change that. I saved her... and ended up getting slammed into by a big-ass truck. That's where it gets hazy._

Faith stared into the little pendant, so simple a thing to be a gift from a demon, girl, whatever she was. With a groan, she closed her eyes against the already raging headache. Her brain hurt just from trying to figure it out. _So I get hit... and then the kid is there trying to keep me awake... I was tired. Fuck, I was dying... I died!_ "Holey shit, I died!" Her eyes went wide at that and she seemed to completely zone out for a minute. Only the curiosity of what the hell she was still doing here brought her back to her train of thought. _I died... fuck that's hard to get around. I... I died and... and I woke up back here. What the hell happened? Okay, rewind. I'm dieing, and the kid is saying something... then I say something. Fuck, what did I say?_ Faith groaned. _I know I made a wish that I knew things now. Why did I make a wish? What was the exact wish..._

The dark haired woman growled to herself again and rubbed the jade pendant with her thumb. She vaguely remembered the "kid" saying something about deserving to die, and her trying to convince the girl otherwise. Then... _"I wish I knew then what I know now." Fuck that was stupid. Never, never wish. What the hell Faith? You know better'n to make a wish._ "The kid was a damned vengeance demon." She spoke aloud to herself, just to drive the point further home. _Alright... I made a stupid wish... and... and died. I guess... she brought me back. I wished to know then what I know now... er... know now what I will know... or something. I guess that means she brought me back to Sunnyhell... before whatever bad choice she thought I meant..._

Frightened for a moment, Faith ran quickly to the bathroom and flung the lights on, wincing at the sudden flare of florescent brightness. She winced, then looked in the mirror. No, she hadn't changed. Her hair was still in long, brown curls that reached just past her mid-back. Her face and body were still matured more than she had been as a teenager. She hadn't been thrown back into her teenage self. Reliving everything... that would have been hell. Letting out a relieved sigh, then one of frustration, she walked slowly back to the bed and fell back on it. "So what now? She said that it was up to me. If... if I can get my younger self to put this thing on... she, I, will go through all of the memories that I, me, want her, me, to know. Fuck that's confusing." She looked at the pendant. Her younger self would only know immediately what she wanted, and she could walk the younger, more volatile version of herself through it. Then other things would crop up as they were needed.

The wish was for her to know at a younger age what she already knew, not for her to be her younger self, or to be in the past. If the demon wasn't lying, if her senses weren't lying about the girl, creature, thing, whatever, having a soul, then it was true. A second chance. "It's worth a fucking shot."

It only took about five minutes for Faith to shove the pendant in her jacket pocket, shuck off a sweater, and head out the door. Scents and sounds assaulted her senses, driving home that this was, indeed, the old Sunnydale motel that she'd known so closely all that time ago. She shivered, despite not being a bit cold, and scowled, heading out toward the streets of Sunnyhell, and probably the Bronze. She'd thought she'd finally gotten away from this hellhole.

Faith still didn't know exactly when she had been dropped. For all she knew, it could be the night of the killing. Thus, though she knew that getting Buffy to break and enter was a mistake, she wanted to first check where Balthezar should be, and the alleyways. Nothing. It wasn't then. She quickly ran all over town, not even knowing the time of night, checking the school, the apartment the Mayor had set up, the docks, even Angel's old mansion. She honestly had no clue as to how she was even going to approach her younger self. If she remembered anything at all, and she knew that she did, one of the last people that young Faith was about to trust was herself, even older and "from the future."

Sighing, she walked back toward the Bronze, probably one of the first places that she should have checked. It was mostly packed, and just as she walked up, she saw a very familiar form walking out, with a lanky, fashion-victim vamp. Her... her first night in Sunnydale?! Without preamble, she made a quick decision, and threw her younger self away from the vamp and staked it without any playing or talk. The younger girl looked up, and seemed to grow silent, and defensive, in shock. It was unlike her, but also her only chance, so she merely smiled, winked at the girl, and ran. It had felt dizzying and nauseating to have even been near the younger self, and she knew the younger girl had felt it. She heard running feet behind her, and felt the same sensations creeping in again. She'd taken her own bait.

As soon as they were a long distance away from the Bronze, she turned and came to an abrupt halt. "Hey, F. How's it hangin?" She smirked, trying to play this off right, as her younger counterpart came to a skidding halt.

"What the fuck are you?"

Faith looked at her younger self. Her mind worked rapidly, turning over ideas that could possibly make this work, and discarding each of them, finally, she sighed and shrugged. "I'm you."

The teenager scoffed, and edged closer, ready to attack. "Right, tell me another one."

"You're here to see Buffy, the other slayer. You haven't had a decent time of sleep for over a month…. And it hurts so much inside, seeing what he did to her every time you close your eyes." Faith said, trying the only approach that she could really think of as being at least a little possible at working. Honesty. The younger girl jumped at her, which she was expecting. Who knew Faith better than Faith? She stepped to the side slightly and turned the jump into a throw, landing the younger girl hard on her back on the ground. "You still pray at night, begging that he doesn't find you." The younger girl jumped up and charged her again, making the older Faith toss her out of the way again. It was just like handling a cocky young slayer that B wanted her to pick up. "Your middle name is Mary." That made the younger girl actually stumble. "And right now we're both getting a sick feeling in our stomachs because I'm not supposed to be here. You had the meeting with Buffy all planned out too. She was supposed to come charging out to save you from the vamp, if she's any good at her job… then you'd stake him right in front of her, to show her that you're just as good as her. Best to be on even or better ground. Then you were gonna have the time of your life with her, the Chosen Two, evil beware."

"Fuck you!"

She sighed and looked at her younger self. "And you still miss your older brother, Chris."

"Fuck you! Stop!" The younger girl charged again, but this time the older Faith flipped her in a way that landed her on top, and managed to hold her in a tight, and probably painful lock. "Get the fuck off of me!"

"I'm you, and it was a fucking pain in the ass ending up here, so listen to me." Faith growled. "What the hell do I have to do to prove it?"

"Start by getting the fuck off of me."

Faith slowly let her go, then jumped back, watching as the younger girl struggled to stand. She was looking upset at being defeated. "If you're me, twinkie, how the fuck did you get here? And what's going on?"

"I made some mistakes… you make mistakes… it ends up ruining our life." Faith shrugged and folded her arms, watching the younger girl warily. She knew herself, and she knew that she was just as likely to walk off as listen, or attack again. "I fucked up again, but it did help in that it got me back here again. I'm supposed to do the second chance shit. Show you what you need to know to not become me… not completely at least."

Faith saw the younger self snort derisively. It did sound like something out of a cheesy comic book, admittedly, or an old B movie. "Whatever."

"So you want to spend months in a coma, and years in jail? You want to be alone forever?" Faith asked, not incredulously, but as if she knew that it was doubtful. "Fine… become everything you hate, a murderous evil minion working for a demon… kill humans… try to seduce vampires…. Hell, even go ahead and get yourself a nice little scar like this and drop off into a coma, letting those dreams plague you…." At that Faith lifted her shirt enough to display the scar that still marred the skin there, from that old fight. "I'm what you become."

"So what? You want to turn me into a damned goody-two-shoes bitch? No fucking thanks."

Faith looked up, feeling a familiar tingle up her spine. "B can't see us like this. She'll want to know things that she can't hear…. Make up your mind. Be an idiot, and make all the mistakes… turn evil and be miserable and alone forever, always the inferior, hated dark slayer…. Or take the second chance. What the fuck do you have to lose anyway? He's already here."

The younger Faith's eyes widened at that, hearing that Kakistos was already in Sunnydale, and then she frowned and looked around. She could see a blonde in the distance. "Fine." The younger girl was shocked when that strange necklace was tossed at her. "What the hell is this?"

"All you have to do is put it on." Hesitantly, seeing the blonde running to get closer, the younger faith slipped the necklace over her head, and everything went black.

TBC


	5. Ch5: Has been, Could be

She suddenly came back to herself, her vision cleared, and standing next to the odd woman that had stolen her slay from her

She suddenly came back to herself, her vision cleared, and standing next to the odd woman that had stolen her slay from her. If nothing else, this had to be the most fucked up dream she'd ever had. The woman looked almost exactly like her, just older, with longer hair. She knew things, beyond what anyone else would know. Now, they stood in a dark alley, and sounds of an excited fight carried to her ears. "Fuck…"

That was her voice, coming out of the older woman, in a tone that she never used. Fear and pain. "What?"

"I… have to re-live them to show you…" The shame in the older woman's voice actually scared Faith, and she wondered what exactly could be so horrible. She'd managed to come back to the past to change the future, so maybe it could be terrible. Then, she saw herself and that blonde, Buffy probably, come running through the alley, fighting off vampires left and right. They worked as a team so well, and each wore a feral, beautiful smile. She envied that Faith, and her heart fluttered slightly at the sight of the blonde. She was rather shocked when the older woman stopped her from approaching any closer, especially when a human got in their path, emerging from behind something. Her other self, the one they watched, was too deeply in the heart of the hunt, and was already throwing him against a dumpster, pulling out a stake. The blonde shouted a panicked "Faith, no!"

She stared in shock as the version of herself that they watched removed her stake from the now dead human body, no dust… no vampire. And, and she didn't even pause or panic. She just stared, then grabbed the blonde and said that they had to go.

"That's the deputy mayor." A husky voice said next to her, and she only just then remembered the woman with her. "Allan Finch. He was coming to us, B and I, to warn us about something. I got B home, and came back and dumped him in the water. They still found the body, but I tried to convince everyone, especially our Watchers, that B was the one that did it. It was one of the biggest mistakes I've made… but not the biggest."

"I…" she started to say in response, but then everything went dark again, and they were in a diner. "What the hell?"

"B lost a Watcher too, yanno. And not even to someone like Kakistos. A master vamp, yes, but no one all that special. Lothos, ask G-man about that one sometime, when B's not around." Faith chuckled softly. "She hates talking about it. The vamp staked Merrick with his own damned stake, right in front of her. That's part of why seeing me kill Allan was so bad for her."

"What happened?" Faith croaked out, still shocked. The woman looked at her curiously. "After I… what happened after I killed him?"

"Well, I was in a panic. The idiot Watcher that they sent to take care of B and I, he overheard G-man and Buffy talking about it, and about how to help me. The council… they're idiots. He was just like them too. He called in the goons, and tried to take me away… so I defected. I joined the bad guy. The big bad. I tried to end the world with him. I killed more people. I tried to kill Buffy." The woman, her older self, could barely speak about it, staring at the waitress that they were supposed to be watching. When she looked over, she realized that it was the blonde again. "When you got to Sunnydale, she'd just barely gotten back. B ran away, lived on her own in New York for a while, went to hell, all sorts of shit. She had to send her lover to hell. Got kicked out because her mom didn't want her to be the Slayer. The cops thought that she'd killed Kendra, our predecessor. She went through a shitload. No matter what we've been through, she can't match the family shit, but she's been through a lot too. When she got back to Sunnyhell, her friends, her mom, didn't trust her, she was kinda alone. Zombies attacked her house. They didn't want to let her back into school. She barely got back in by the time we'd gotten there."

Buffy was being yelled at by her manager, and they didn't even have to move to go along with her, watching her walk along… watching her save some girl. It sped through things, letting them see her tiny apartment. They even saw her time down in hell, and the fight to get out.

"She's saved the world twice already. She'll do it again, several times." The woman said in her ear just as everything went black again. They were in the motel room next. Laying on the bed was Faith, and standing, looking around was a prudish blonde woman, talking about the Spartan Greeks. "Now this bitch I hate."

"Why?"

"Gwendolyn post. She's after this magic glove thing. Convinced us that she was still a real Watcher, and here to look after me. Had me fooled into trusting her. Turned me against B, everyone against B, and there was a big fight. She tried to kill us all. If it weren't for Buffy, and Angel, she would have. It was a bit before B and I made up after that. Time flashed by from this scene to when Faith and Buffy fought, and Ms. Post trying to strike them all down with the glove, mocking Faith for trusting her. Once again the woman had to restrain Faith, the watching Faith, from jumping in.

Their vision blackened again, to Christmas, with Faith at the Summers residence, and watching Buffy run off to help Angel. "Angel, you'll learn, is her lover, or he was. A vampire with a soul. He's not evil. Fuck, he's helped them, and me, so much. No, he's not evil. When he has his soul, he really an Angel, just in a demon's body. He's being tormented, tortured. She left us there to protect her mom, keep the woman company. He's supposed to be in hell right now, but he comes back. Support B in that, yanno? Support her. The others won't believe he's good again when they find out, and she'll need it. When… when he has sex, and lives a moment of true happiness, the curse that gives him a soul is lifted, and he becomes evil again. Last year, for you anyway, that happened. They did, he lost it, and he's worse than Kakistos when he's evil. It's feast or famine with that guy, pure evil or pure good. That's what tortured her so much last year. He did a number on all of them, so everyone, all of her friends, they all hate him. Don't. He knows that he doesn't belong with her, or he will. He'll leave, to make his own redemption, and she'll move on, slowly. Just, trust her, and know that he is good."

"Anything else?" Faith growled at the woman, when they ended up in her own motel room again, and there was nothing to see.

"The mayor is evil. Don't attack Ms. Post right off the bat, get Giles to call the Council and find out that she's defected. No killing humans." The woman leaned against the wall, wishing for a cigarette most likely, and frowned. "Trust B, and don't ever betray her. She'll need you more than you'll ever know in time. Keep the necklace with you. It'll trigger knowledge, a memory that I have for you in it, if something comes up that would lead you to being what I became. Oh, and twinkie…"

She looked up, from staring at the pendant, only to realize that the woman was fading from sight. "What?"

"Have faith in her… and in yourself." And then, the woman had completely faded into nothing, a sad smile on her face, and Faith was alone in the motel room.

TBC

_Okay, so the older Faith is gone now, and it's up to the teenage Faith to correct the wrongs that could be done in the not-so-distant future.  
Remember, Feed the Author. I need to know if anything needs clarifying and such. I know that these past two chapters aren't among some of my better stuff, but I am currently pretty busy with a bunch of stuff. Yanno, work and a car hunt, being sick. All that lovely stuff. Reward me for updating and I'll reward you with more._


	6. Ch6: A New Slayer in Town

She smirked to herself, checking her nails idly and flicking at something underneath one

She smirked to herself, checking her nails idly and flicking at something underneath one. Her hair was in a wild, but not unattractive array, barely windblown. Her eyes were rimmed by dark kohl, and lips in a glossy blood red. Even her outfit was picked perfectly. Tight black jeans and a torn tank top that advertised for the band Slayer. When she saw several students walk in through the library doors, and a man amble out of an office reading some book, the smirk only increased. She'd timed it perfectly, getting there just before the students were let out for lunch, and with the old man in his little hubble of an office researching.

"So I was thinking that maybe it was a trick of the light, or even a ghost. It could be a ghost. Those exist…" Xander babbled, a goofy grin plastered to his face, only to come up short as they all realized at the same time just what Buffy was staring at. "I, uh… I mean… um… wanna help me out here guys?"

"Please do me the great favor of removing your feet from my desk, thank-you. Is there something that I can help you with?"

Faith looked over at the 'librarian' that had addressed her. Giles. She'd been given a few random "memories" over the course of that morning as she searched around for the school. The primary of those being faces to put to the names she had, and that they always met in the library, of all places. The smirk on her face briefly flashed to a smile when the blonde finally spoke. "You're the girl from last night."

"Yo. You must be this Buffy that I've heard so much about." Faith stood then, leaning back a bit and hooking both thumbs into the belt loops of her pants. Xander was briefly captivated by the pull of her shirt over her breasts before he saw what was written there, and elbowed the redhead quickly to look as well. She blushed, but noted the same thing. "I'm Faith."

"Buffy… I think…"

The blonde was scowling, and approached cautiously to look at her more closely. The almost familiar wash of tingles grew strong enough for her to actually notice as it flew up her spine. It was much like the feeling that she got in the pit of her stomach when vampires were near, only pleasant, and over the majority of her body. "Hey B, see somethin ya like?" A single brow rose suggestively, and she licked her glossy lips to add to that.

The blonde turned as red as the other girl had, and backed away a step, before frowning and pursing her lips. "The new slayer? Nice choice of shirts…"

"They're good music…" Faith shrugged and smirked again, flopping into the chair and replaced her booted feet on the table. "So what's up?"

"Another Slayer?" Willow looked confused, as if she hadn't just been suspecting that very thing. She stared again at the logo on Faith's shirt, and after a moment, was blushing a hot red again. "I… um… it… and…"

"What're you doing in Sunnydale?" Buffy asked suspiciously, sitting in the chair across from her and folding her arms defensively. Xander merely smiled foolishly as he trotted over to the table as well, Giles going as far as to follow only to tap insistently at Faith's boots.

"Thought I'd come and see what all the fuss was about." Faith shrugged and stretched back, chuckling inwardly at how the boy nearly drooled, the two girls turned red, and the Watcher was immediately cleaning his glasses. "Hey, I get away from the Brit for a few days, hop a bus, come riding into town. Figure that we could get up to some fun times, yanno. Didn't think he'd be here…" Faith eyed Giles as if ruefully, knowing that the story was complete crap. Well, she wasn't about to spill all her fucking beans to a couple of goofy kids and an uptight idiot! So what if the pendant around her neck seemed to warm at that thought, and the feeling that he was one of the few men she could ever trust came into her mind. She had her reasons. This was gonna be difficult enough as it was, damn if she still couldn't decide herself if it was all a big damned trick.

"Got away from your Watcher?" Buffy seemed even more suspicious, and stood again, her arms folded once more. Faith was proud to catch the blonde staring again at her cleavage… or the word written there, she couldn't decide which.

"Retreat thingy. Yanno… I thought since mine… yours would." She shrugged helplessly, only vaguely remembering her Watcher having mentioned it. Everyone turned to look at Giles then, save for Faith, who took that moment to check the blonde out.

"I… well…" He seemed to think for a moment, his brows knitted, and then let out a small breath of air as enlightenment filled his eyes. "Oh. Well them. You see… there's a Watchers' retreat every year in the Cotswolds. It's a lovely spot, very s-serene." He's cleaning his glasses again, blushing a bit and his voice only wavering the slightest. "There is horse riding and hiking… and punting and lectures, discussions…" His voice trails off slightly as he smiles softly in envy. "It-I-it's a great _honor_ to be invited… or so I'm told."

"Ah, don't sweat it Jeeves. It's boring. Too stuffy for a guy like you." She winked suggestively, smiling, and making Xander, who had been watching her intently, cough and sputter.

"Perhaps I should properly introduce you." Buffy said, frowning and staring at Faith. "This is _Giles_. Watcher. Giles the Watcher."

"Yeah, I get it. He's Gi… Whatever, G-man, and he's a Watcher. If I'd'a known they came that young, I'd'a gotten a transfer." She winked again, making the stuffy Brit clean his glasses. Eventually she and B would be good friends enough to have a contest, who could make him clean his specs more often. She was pretty sure she'd win that one. "Cute for an English guy."

"Um, may I say ewe?"

"I second that." Willow and Xander managed to say at the same time. Faith, of course, only chuckled.

"That aside…" Giles coughed and cleared his throat, replacing his glasses. "It is rather fortuitous that Faith arrived as she did. Curious as I am about what happened last night, there have been…"

"Aha!" Willow said, raising a finger and making everyone turn to stare at her. She blushed, especially when Faith smiled and waggled her brows, but babbled and stuttered out more nevertheless. "I… I… uh… I mean to say… Aha! Evil. Big, brewin evil. You'll never get bored here, F-Faith. I knew there was a reason she showed up."

"Thought I said I came ta have some fun with my blonde counterpart…" Faith looked confused, raising both brows.

Giles picked up a newspaper from atop the card catalogue, turning again to look solemnly around at everyone. "Yes, well, I don't know how big an evil it is, but, uh, two people have disappeared from the Sunset Ridge District." He hands the paper to Buffy, who scans the article and tosses it to Faith, who abruptly drops it on the table without a glance.

"Alrighty then. Patrol, yey." Buffy said sarcastically, and let out a small sigh. "I'm up for it, but latish though. Dinner with mom tonight."

"Right! Kickin vamp ass. I'm in." Faith smiled and cracked her knuckles, nodding. "Warm up with a spar after school B? Should know each other's moves before we lay it down together." What she meant was obvious, a sparring session, but when Buffy turned to look at her, she still winked to put another message across. It only made the blonde blush and stutter. "After the bell then."

"Ooh, tour!" Xander exclaimed, jumping up and hopping to Faith's side. "We should give her a school tour. Needs to know her way around and such."

"Right… um…" Willow seemed a bit less sure, but as Giles nodded and shooed them out as he gestured for Buffy to lag behind, she went along.

"Yo, so B ever tell you any of her Slayin stories? Fuck but that's some good times." Faith said with a grin, winking at Buffy and walking out with the two. "Like, there was this one time, down in Missouri, with this Big Daddy Vamp that used to keep _mothers_ of alligators as pets…"

Faith and Buffy were circling each other carefully in the center of the high school library, Xander and Willow watching raptly as Giles sat reading something. He'd overseen the first round or so, and had quickly left them to it. Now, as they agreed to take a brief break for water, Faith leaned against a cabinet, smiling. She'd already won over the friends. Her stories about slaying adventures had quickly had them wrapped up in the wonder that was -Faith-. Now, as she smirked and set her water bottle down, she raised a brow at the blonde. "Yo, B, ain't it funny how slayin always makes ya hungry and horny."

Buffy choked on her water, sputtering it out and turning bright red as she coughed, her friends concerned and moving toward her, but staring in shock as well. "What?!" Her eyes were wide and her ears burned as she stared at the dark-haired slayer. Faith smiled and nodded, shrugging. "I… um… I… no. I mean, sometimes I crave a non-fat yogurt but… um…" She was babbling, shyly to boot, and wouldn't even look the darker girl in the eye. Faith only chuckled.

"Yo, don't sweat it. Hey, fuck, I gotta take a shower and figure out dinner for tonight. Where should I meet ya for patrol?" As Buffy turns to get her stuff, Faith barely notes Willow giving the blonde a certain look.

"Um… if you want, once we freshen up, you could join us for dinner. Me and my mom I mean. She'd probably really like to meet you…"

"Sweet." Faith just smiles in a cocky manner, sauntering over to Willow and poking her slightly as she gets her own things from behind where the redhead and Xander had been sitting.

"Great! Great… and then we can go patrolling… also together."

"Right. Yeah, I wanned'a talk to ya anyway. It'll give us a chance to really bond." Faith says with a big smile, hugging Buffy by the shoulders. The blonde looked decidedly miserable, making Faith both laugh and cringe inside. This would be hell.

Faith settled herself a bit more into the chair. Buffy had been quiet the entire walk there, leaving several uncomfortable gaps of silence in their walk. Now they were sat down to dinner with the blonde's mother… who was all too eager and friendly.

"So you're a Slayer, too. Isn't that interesting!" The woman smiled and started to spoon some broccoli onto her plate. "Do you like it?"

Buffy eyed the broccoli as Faith answered, obviously wanting the bowl passed over. "God, I love it." _Damn, you'd think that I was like some movie star or something, she won't stop smiling and staring at me… B looks like she's kinda hungry._

"Uh, Mom?" Buffy's voice was tentative, and she seemed to be indicating the broccoli bowl… but her mom just waved her off and continued.

"Just a second, honey. You know, Faith, Buffy never talks like that. Why do you love it?" Her eyes shone as she watched Faith and she finally stopped scooping broccoli.

Faith looked briefly at Buffy, noting the girl's expression, before switching back to looking at her mom. Aggravated and annoyed, not good. Oh well. "Well, when I'm fighting, it's like the whole world goes away… and I only know one thing: that I'm gonna win and they're gonna lose." At that she leaned forward and winked. "I like that feelin'." Following that statement, the brunette promptly began to dig into her food, starving. God it had been forever since she'd had a good, home-cooked meal. Glancing up again, she noticed Buffy decide to just give up on the broccoli bowl and use the tongs to grab some fries.

When Joyce finally sat down, Buffy retorted with a grumbled, "Well, sure. Beats that dead feeling you get when they win and you lose."

Faith paused to finish off her soda, and locked eyes with the obviously resentful blonde over the rim of her glass. _Fuck… this sure as hell isn't going good. What the fuck did I do to her, huh? I haven't even gotten the chance to fuck up yet. Damn, stop thinking that. Uh… the broccoli. Give her some broccoli idiot._ She smiled tentatively as if she'd taken it as a sarcastic joke, and passed the bowl of broccoli over. Buffy just looked confused before helping herself. _She's kinda cute with that confused little frown. Fuck, what the hell am I thinking that for!_ "Yeah… dead wouldn't be fun."

Joyce just grinned broadly at Faith's little quip, then suddenly noticed the empty glass. "Oh, Faith, can't I get you some more soft drink?"

"Yeah, sure. You bet." Faith put on her best shit-eating grin for the woman, watching as she took the glass and walked off to the kitchen. "She's pretty cool, huh?"

Buffy looked at Faith skeptically, taking a bite of a fry and nodding. "Yeah, best mom ever." The blonde then just looked around the table and into the kitchen to see what her mother was doing. "Would you excuse me?" Without waiting for an answer, Buffy hurried to get up and walk into the kitchen, keeping herself from grumbling beneath her breath. Watching after her a moment, Faith shook her head, turned, and picked up the small bottle of hot sauce, sniffing it tentatively.

_Gah, nasty. How do people stand that shit?_ She just did her best not to look back at the two in the kitchen.

"I like this girl Buffy." Joyce said, grinning and taking out more coke.

"Oh, she's very personable." Buffy said sarcastically, sitting on a stool. "She gets along with my friends… my Watcher… my mom." She leaned back and noticed Faith sneak a fry from her plate before scooping some of the ones still on the serving plate onto her own. "Look, now she's getting along with my fries."

The glass filled, Joyce closed the bottle and rolled her eyes at her daughter's attitude. "Now, Buffy…"

"Plus, who disappears into thin air, huh? She's creepy."

Crossing her arms, Buffy's mom just leveled a look on her. "Does anyone else think Faith's creepy… and disappearing into thin air?"

"We saw her last night outside of the Bronze chasing after some woman, and then they both just… disappeared on top of one of the hills. And she was there this morning all of a sudden too. You've gotta admit that's creepy." Buffy grumbled, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands.

"She was on one of the hills Buffy, she could have just gone over the next rise." Joyce rolled her eyes. "Does anyone else think she's creepy?"

"Well… no… but I'm the one being single-white-femaled here."

Her mother only smiled wryly and picked up the glass. "It's probably best that you were an only child, Buffy."

The blonde girl sat back up and rolled her eyes. "I'm just getting my life back, mom. I'm not really looking to go halfsies on it." Joyce chuckled, as if that was exactly what she was talking about. "We just met her."

"Well, there are at least some things that I'd be happy to see you share. Like the slaying, for instance. I mean, two of you fighting is safer than one, right?" She walked around and put a careful hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"I guess…"

"Unless, I mean, you heard her. She _loves_ the slaying." She turned and leaned against the kitchen's island. "Couldn't she take over for you? Once she learns her way around?"

"No one can take over for me, mom. I told you."

"But you're going to college next year. She is a Slayer, Buffy, isn't she? I think it would be…" Oblivious, Joyce started rambling.

"Mom, the only way you get a new Slayer is when the old Slayer dies. I can't just stop doing my duty." Buffy gave a long-suffering sigh, not even realizing what she'd just said.

After a moment of quiet, it dawned on her to look at her mother, who had turned white. It had, of course, dawned on the woman what that meant. "Then that means you… you… When did you die?! You never told me you died!"

In the dining room, Faith straightened up, and stared behind her, before edging a bit more out of sight. Shit, hadn't the girl told her mom about that yet?!

"No… it- it was only just for a few minutes. I kinda drowned. I was revived. I'm okay." Buffy winced and tried to explain, watching as her mother began to pace nervously.

"Oh, I hate this. I hate your life. This shouldn't be happening."

"Mom, I…"

"Look, I…" She took a deep breath, doing her best not to come to tears while she was still attempting to talk with Buffy. "I know you didn't choose this… that this chose you. I've tried to mark in the 'Slayer Pride' parade. But I…" She gulped a breath in, staring earnestly at Buffy. "I don't want you to die, Buffy."

_The Slayer -what- parade??_ Buffy didn't let that thought distract her from responding though. Moving, she hugged her mother tightly. "I'm not gonna die. I know how to do my job." Sighing and realizing that they still had a guest, who probably heard too much of that, she looks back in the direction of the dining room. "Besides, like you said, I've got help now."

Composing themselves, both of them smiled, hugged once more, and turned back to dinner. They could talk more later, but right now they were being rude to their guest. Joyce almost looked panicked when she realized that they'd taken so long.

TBC


	7. Ch7: Coming Clean mostly

Faith looked around at the dark, dank alleyway

Faith looked around at the dark, dank alleyway. Construction stuff littered it, and one of the street lights dimmed as if it were ready to give out soon. Hadn't they already passed that broken crate? Buffy better not be fuckin lost… it was her town after all. "Yo B, ain't we been through here already?"

"Funny thing about vampires, Faith, they'll hit a street even _after_ you've been there. It's almost as if they have no manners." Buffy answered sarcastically, twisting her stake around and looking desperately for some kind of demonic distraction.

Faith rolled her eyes in response. Major bitch-fest going on there. What the hell, maybe she shouldn't even say anything. Fuck, she still didn't really know if it was all true. The mere thought made the necklace burn and throb around her neck, and she looked down, expecting to see a glowing red around it. The pendant, however, looked as lifeless as ever. "Fuck it." She grumbled, stomping up and grabbing Buffy's arm. "Hey! B, I don't really know what the fuck is wrong with you, but I _told_ you I wann'ed'a talk to ya about somethin."

Buffy glowered at her before wrenching her arm away. "Fine, what?"

"Listen… um…" Faith scowled and looked away, reaching back and scratching her neck, trying to force the words out. It was so difficult to talk about, and Buffy wasn't making things easier. "I… She's not at a retreat, okay?"

"What?"

Faith growled, scowling at Buffy. "She's not at some retreat off in England, safe and fucking sound with a bunch of tweed-encased Brits, okay! She's fucking dead and he fucking killed her!"

Buffy was staring at her in shock and confusion for a moment before the words finally worked their way into the blonde's head. "Your… watcher? What?" Faith held back a wash of tears and growled, getting aggressive in place of grieving.

"I…" She growled, ready to start in on Buffy for being so bitchy, but noticed something else and pushed the older girl aside harshly, shocking the blonde. At first, Buffy thought that Faith was just running off after springing that on her, but she realized that the brunette was barreling head-first into a group of vampires.

Rolling her eyes that, of course, the first bit of action for the night would have to happen now. Growling herself, Buffy jumped into the fray. It was certainly a bit of a fight, they seemed to be ganging up on her more than Faith, but then again she was the Slayer that was known around here. They might not think Faith would be that difficult of a challenge. Several close calls later, and many a bruise, and possible sore rib later, the vampires were all but dust in the wind, and she looked to see how her oh-so-wonderful sister Slayer was doing. Faith was busy wailing on a vampire several yards away, torn shirt still managing to cover her as she screamed at him and beat his now unconscious face beyond recognition even as a vampire.

Faith stumbled as she was pulled off of the vampire and he turned to dust. Turning to lay one into the person responsible for throwing her off, she stopped just short of actually hitting Buffy. "What the fuck, B!"

"What the fuck yourself." Buffy growled. "What did you think you were doing?!"

"Kicking some vampire ass, what else?" Faith growled, turning and folding her arms. Her stance was angry and defensive, and Buffy had to struggle to keep herself from slapping her.

"Sounded to me like you were screaming at him for someone named Kissing Toast…" She frowns then, looking confused. "Or did you say taquitos? Why were you yelling about Mexican food?"

Faith, for the most part, was thrown off by Buffy's ultimate blonde moment and turned to stare at her incredulously.

Buffy looked over at Faith as they sat on the pile of four-by-fours and watched what had once been vampire dust blow away with the night wind. "Kakistos. He… He killed her… he… there's no word to describe what he did to her." The blonde just remained quiet as Faith shuddered, reliving the moment temporarily. "I… I hurt him… and I ran. I… I just ran… I had to get away. I found myself here after a while. I just ran."

"I…" Buffy faded off, unsure of what to say. She barely knew the girl at all. Looking off into the distance. "I lost a Watcher too. A long time ago." Buffy let out a breath. "It's okay Faith. You're here now."

"He's here B. I…" Faith broke off before she spilled out what had happened that night at the Bronze, when they'd almost met for the first time. "I just know he's here. He's gonna come after me."

Buffy sat quietly for several minutes, which gave a now panicking Faith no comfort. Any moment she'd bolt up and run to pack up all of her stuff. Maybe she could get out and away before he found her.

"Don't worry Faith. We'll take care of him." Turning to look at the darker Slayer, Buffy leveled a strange, determined gaze on her. "We're the Chosen Two, after all."

"So what're we supposed to tell Giles?" Buffy asked curiously, striding toward the library the next morning, looking at Faith carefully. She still wasn't quite sure if she could trust the girl… but Faith had come clean to her, and was asking for her help. What made her even more curious was that strange pendant that the younger slayer would fiddle and play with when she was nervous. "I mean… we have to tell him something if we're gonna get him to help us figure out how to kill this guy."

"How 'bout we tell him nothin." Faith grumbled like a put-out five-year-old. Buffy raised her brows, and the brunette squirmed uncomfortably under the gaze. "Tell 'im we heard the vamps last night ranting about him. I…"

"He'll have to find out sometime Faith. It's not like we can lie to him forever." Buffy complained, scowling. "Come on, I promised you that I'd help. I promised that we'd take care of this guy. That's why you came here, right? To get met to help you kill him?"

"N… no…" Faith whispered, glowering. "I was running, okay B? Fuck, I was running. I… I didn't think he'd find me. Fuck, I should just get out of here…"

"What, and dump this big bad-ass on me to deal with?" Buffy sneered. "Faith, running away isn't gonna solve anything. God!" She groaned and threw her arms up and turned her back, folding her arms.

Faith nearly yelped at the sudden burning sensation from the pendant… which she hadn't even realized she was toying with in her left hand. Releasing it so that it swung back to connect with her chest, she gulped. "Fine, sorry. Fuck, just tell him, not like it'll make a difference."

Buffy glared over at Faith, noticed that the front of a tough, bad-girl was breaking away to show a scared and resentful little girl, though it was barely seen through her angry posture. Faith wouldn't even glare her in the eye. Letting out a breath, she grabbed the younger girl's hand and pulled her into the library, attempting to hold on to her own aggravation. It wasn't like she could just let Faith act like a brat and go all soft the minute she saw any sign of fear. "Giles!"

Willow jumped from where she was sat, cuddled with Oz, and stared. Giles nearly dropped the bowl he was putting some things together in. The werewolf didn't even seem to notice other than briefly glancing in her general direction. "Yes… Buffy… I would greatly appreciate if you would refrain from doing that."

Faith glowered as Giles cleaned his glasses, and was led by Buffy over to a sitting position at the table. She noticed how Buffy steered her toward the empty side of the table, and then sat on the table itself next to her. "Well, there's a problem. There's a new bad in town. His name was Kameros…"

"Kakistos…" Faith grumbled softly.

"Right, Kakistos. What do you know, how do we kill?" She leaned forward, brows knitting, and locked her stare on Giles. She at least was going to be nice enough to not throw Faith's problem out in front of Willow, though she'd really like to talk to her best friend about this. She needed someone to talk to.

"Ka… Kakistos…" Giles looked genuinely surprised, paused to shake his head and clean his glasses, and then stare at Buffy and Faith as if they'd each grown a new head. "H… How did you hear of him?"

"Er… Let's just say that we know he's here." Buffy glanced at Faith, seeing the girl look in an almost panicked state between Buffy and Willow, then force herself to look relaxed and bored as she sat back.

"Kakistos itself is Greek. It translates to the worst of the worst. It also happens to be the name of a vampire so old that his hands and feet are cloven." He disappeared behind the counter again, this time not for the bowl and such that he was working with, but to find something else. "And how exactly do we know that he's here? His last known whereabouts were in Italy."

"Let's just say that we know he's here, Giles…" Buffy locked eyes with him and emphasized her words carefully, making the Watcher's brows knit with confusion. He dropped it though. Looking around, he wondered just who exactly it was that Buffy was trying to keep out of the conversation.

Willow was watching Buffy in confusion, occasionally glancing at the too-cool looking Faith sitting there and picking at her fingernails. Occasionally Faith would cast a strange look at Buffy, but otherwise seemed to be paying no attention at all. Taking a deep breath, the redhead decided that perhaps now was best for their departure. "Um… I've gotta head off to class Giles, but I'll come by later to help with the research thing."

Oz looked at the clock, then at his girlfriend, then shrugged and walked out with her, waving briefly to the others. Faith watched them go in confusion, and looked over at Buffy, who seemed to be even more confused.

"Weird friends ya got there B…" Faith teased with a small smirk. "You said classes didn't start for another twenty."

"Yeah… they don't." Buffy agreed, but shrugged. "Um… Maybe… Giles…"

"What the fuck ever, B." Faith suddenly seemed to grow colder and look away, to hide the pain in her eyes.

Giles looked between then before coming out and waiting for a moment. Both Slayers were quiet for an inordinate amount of time, though. "Faith?"

"Fuck, fine, she's not in England, okay?" Faith growled. It didn't seem to register on Giles's face for several moments before he connected what the girl was saying.

"We just need to know how to kill this cloven guy, Giles." Buffy said softly. Despite her dislike of the girl, she couldn't help but have part of her heart soften toward Faith. It hurt to loose a Watcher.

"Perhaps Faith should tell us what exactly…" Giles began, but was silenced by Buffy jumping down off of the table.

"Not now Giles." She said calmly. "Not now."

_**TBC**_


	8. Ch8: The Mighty Taquitos pt1

Buffy looked at Faith, attempting to hide the pain lurking behind her own eyes

Buffy looked at Faith, attempting to hide the pain lurking behind her own eyes. Giles' words echoed back and forth within her head, and the blonde decided to chase after Faith. The brunette had come back after school, as promised. Buffy had half thought that Faith would skip town, and after their sparring session, had silently stalked off to return home. Buffy was now hurrying after her through the parking-lot of a Motel. Those words still haunted her, and she pushed aside her feelings of jealousy, and lack of desire to share her life. _He… he shouldn't be any more difficult to kill than the Master was, Buffy. With the both of you, it should be somewhat easier, though we should certainly come up with a battle plan. Perhaps tomorrow morning we could all meet to discuss it…_ Those words almost hurt. _…shouldn't be any more difficult to kill than the Master…_ Damnit, the Master was why Faith was a Slayer in the first place! Buffy had died!

Faith didn't really know why the blonde Slayer was following her, and she didn't really like it. What, Buffy didn't trust that she wouldn't leave? Damnit, she'd be gone by now if she was going to leave! The haunted, hurt look that kept flashing through the smaller girl's eyes didn't help to settle the dark Slayer either. When Buffy kept the door from slamming shut, and hesitated on the threshold, as if she couldn't just enter after all that, Faith growled. "Well?!"

"I…" Buffy hesitated again, then pushed her way in and shut the door behind her. "This is where you've been staying?" It wasn't what she was going to say, of course, but she digressed to a more comfortable subject of the accommodations. The Motel had seen better days. It didn't look any better than one of those pay by the hour dumps… maybe it was.

"Yeah, well, funds are kinda low right now, B. Don't really got a whole live-in house like some Slayers." Faith grumbled uncomfortably, and ignored the warmth on her chest. "What do ya want, B?"

"Darnit Faith, why do you have to be so aggressive?" Buffy fumed, glaring at her. It was so hard to sympathize with the girl when she was being so frustrating. "Don't you get it? I understand!"

Silence reigned between them for several moments and Faith glared down at her feet in a brooding way. Yeah, Buffy understood. As well as anyone could. And Faith knew that. Damnit, if anything about what had happened was truth, she knew just from the pain in Buffy's eyes that she understood. Why _did_ she have to be so aggressive? Looking up at Buffy with fear in her eyes, she realized that it wasn't just the fear of Kakistos. What if… what if her older self was wrong? What if she couldn't change anything? What if she really couldn't trust Buffy?

Buffy groaned and slumped down on the bed next to her. "Faith… you're not the only one who's lost a Watcher, okay? And hell, that vampire Giles so casually compared this Taquitos guy," At Faith's glower, she winced and corrected herself, "I mean Kakistos…. The Master… he killed me. Faith, I _understand_, maybe not completely, but I do. Stop attacking me."

Faith was about to say something, namely about Buffy's own aggression when they'd first met, when the landlord pounded on the door. Growling, she stood and answered it. "Hey."

"You owe rent…" The fat man immediately grumbled, frowning at her in his stained wife-beater. At her expression, he let out a frustrated breath and bulled his way into the room, crossing his arms. "The room's eighteen dollars a day. That's every day."

Faith pushed down the desire to blush as she was accosted by him, in front of Buffy, for money she didn't have. "Yeah, I know. Listen, I'll get it to you by tomorrow. I swear. You know I'm good for it…" She smiled and batted her eyes, posing herself a bit so that he could look her over.

The man sighed and shrugged, "It's not like I own the place…"

"But I bet you will some day." Faith smiled and winked at him, shamelessly flirting in front of the blonde. Well, if Buffy wanted to complain, then she could try living on her own… fuck, Faith winced at that thought even as she attempted to ignore the heavy weight around her neck.

"Not if I listen to broads like you…" He frowned and rolled his eyes, just now noticing Buffy. "Roommates are extra…"

"Oh, I'm just visiting." Buffy said, eyes widening. Well, they'd already been wide.

Eying Buffy, the guy decided to just give up for the night and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He really would never own the place if he listened to chicks like that. Pretty as they might be, he was going to get fired at this rate.

"Listen B, as much as you might understand… you don't really know what I'm feelin', kay? So just fuckin drop it." Faith said miserably, her back still to the blonde and sounding a great deal tougher than she felt at the moment. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Buffy hesitated a moment, then nodded to herself and sat in silence. That she understood too. It was only another second or two when Faith was about to ask Buffy if she was going to keep making herself comfortable, or get the hell out, but another knock on the door interrupted the barely begun sentence. Peering through the peephole, she saw the manager again, with a suitably dazed and idiotic expression on his face. "Fuck, what do you want now?" Swinging the door open, she saw the vampires, including Kakistos there, holding up the dead body of the Motel manager.

"Faith…" Kakistos grinned, his face made even more gruesome by the scar down his blinded eye, and darted out a cloven hand to snatch at Faith's neck.

Struggling, the brunette panicked, nearly whimpering, and scrabbled at his wrist to yank him off, barely seeing the blonde blur rushing between them. The next thing she knew was that she was thrown back, and Buffy was trying to slam the door closed on the bastard's arm. It took a moment or two, but in pain the vampire eventually had to pull his arm back out, and she slammed the door shut, flipped the locks, and pulled the chain.

"No…" Faith's brown eyes were wide with pure shock and fear, staring at the door.

"I think I just bought us a little more…" Buffy's words were cut off as a hand was punched through the door and reached for her, and she jumped back, yelping the last word out. "time!"

"No! Nooooo!" Faith was practically shrieking her screams now as she scrabbled back on the bed, trying to get further away. Buffy, seeing the girl panic, hurried over and grabbed her wrist.

"Scream later! Escape now!" Running for the bathroom, she dragged Faith behind her, forcing the younger Slayer to tag along as they heard the door being kicked in. It took less than half a moment to get into the bathroom and have the window kicked out, the both of them diving through.

Faith was still wide-eyed in terror, staring back at the window that, no doubt, the vampires would be jumping after them through any moment now. Grabbing Faith's hand again, Buffy yanked her away and started running. "Faith, lets go!" They kept going, and Buffy led them down one side of a fork in the alleys and streets, the vampires hot in pursuit. Before long, she'd crashed them through yet another window, and into a warehouse. Spinning, they saw the only vampire that had managed to take the correct path run past cluelessly.

Breathing hard, more from the excitement and panic, Buffy turned to Faith with her eyes quickly softening. "We're okay. Faith… what happened?" Faith, still in shock, terrified, didn't answer. "Faith! What happened?"

The brunette was startled enough out of her shock by her name that she turned wide eyes on Buffy. They looked like a frightened child's. "I… I was _there_ B. I was there when he killed her. I saw… I saw what he did to her, what he was gonna do to me. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't…. I ran. I… I saw it…"

"Faith…" Swallowing hard, Buffy approached, her face serious and brows knitted slightly. "First rule of slaying, Faith: don't die. You did the right thing, okay? You didn't die. Now you do the math. One of him, two of us." Buffy gulped and closed her eyes, shaking her head. "He may have gotten me, Faith, but damn if I didn't kill that bastard the Master, and I was only one Slayer."

Faith only looked past Buffy and shook her head, her eyes widening again. "No."

"Yes, Faith. We can do it."

"No…" Faith looked like she starting to really panic again, and Buffy turned to see what she was staring at. There, on the floor, the body of a pizza delivery boy lay, as well as a few other corpses, all of which are starting to get rank. How did she not notice that before? "This is his place…"

"He drove us here."

"Fuck…" One of the vampires had appeared at the entrance, growling at them, as Faith stared off in its direction. Turning, both began to run through the warehouse, and the vampire gave chase again. Two more came in, trying to head them off, but Buffy managed to kick a bucket into the face of one of them. Reacting more from training than the fear that Faith seemed to be trapped in, she threw away the other two with hearty kicks, jumping into fight mode. Flight hadn't worked after all.

By the time she'd gotten on top of a table, and knocked yet another vampire into unconsciousness with a crowbar, Kakistos had started to advance upon Faith, his one-eyed gaze fixed and hungry. Calling out, she threw the crowbar. "Faith, _don't die_." The brunette was surprised enough to actually catch it, which somewhat surprised the older slayer.

Things were somewhat of a blur after that. Faith didn't even get to swing the crowbar, she was punched into some kind of wooden beams against the wall, Buffy was attacked by yet another vampire. Somewhere behind her she eventually heard Faith shout a loud "No!" and attempted to hurry her own efforts to move over and help her fellow Slayer. She'd promised.

She'd finally staked the annoyance of an undead and turned with her newly created stake to see Kakistos wailing on Faith, hitting her hard enough to knock her out of even his grip and back onto the floor. _No!_ Buffy ran, and even as she managed to plunge the wooden stake into his heart, where it should be, she found no dust to greet her.

Picking the blonde up by the hair, he threw her aside, grinning and chuckling. The tiny thing hadn't even been able to fully push through his thick and mutated hide. The blonde fury was up and back into the fray as if she'd merely bounced though, Faith watching in pained fear and shock from where she'd been thrown. Buffy tried to push the stake in farther, managing another hit or two, but it didn't even seem to effect him.

Laughing, Kakistos spread his arms before the shocked blonde Slayer, and Faith slowly seemed to wake from her daze as she stared on. "I guess you need a bigger stake, Slayer!"

Fear and rage driving her, Faith grabbed one of the broken wooden beams she'd landed in and ran it through his chest like a javelin, screaming as she ran. His face a mirror of pure shock, almost comical, Kakistos slowly disintegrated into dust, leaving his skeleton, which then crumbled to dust too. Buffy stared at the beam as it dropped to the ground, approaching Faith, and the brunette only stared around with wide, somewhat frightened, but mostly angry eyes for anything else that would attack. Whatever other vampires had been there had taken the opportunity to escape. As both Slayers turned to look at the dust that had once been the vicious vampire, Faith heaved a few heavy breaths.

Buffy pulled her hair back behind her ears and looked up at Faith casually. "You hungry?"

"Starved." Faith nodded, and without a backward glance or another word, both strolled out of the building.

_**TBC**_


	9. Ch9: The Mighty Taquitos pt2

Faith looked up from the various tacos, burritos, and nachos spread around the table

Faith looked up from the various tacos, burritos, and nachos spread around the table. She had to admit that she loved those open-all-night fast-food restaurants. They had helped to ebb those after-slaying munchies she'd gotten more often than not. Especially when she remembered to nab the vampirs' wallets before dusting them. Buffy was nibbling on a taquito, of all things, having ordered them for the irony of having called Kakistos that so often. Faith had to admit that she was cute, but a little ditzy.

"So B… took care of the hungries, how about the other half?" her eyebrows waggled and she did her best to ignore the bruises beginning to form on every part of her body. Fucking bastard hadn't taken it easy on her. When the blonde looked up, the most confused expression was floating across her features. Faith, to emphasize what she meant, winked and licked her lips. Buffy continued looking confused before her eyes lit up and she turned a bright red. "Kiddin' B. Besides, wouldn't want to steal you away from Scotty boy." _Fuck if that one wasn't cute he wouldn't be worth chasin' B. You could totally do better. Shit, why should I care?_

Buffy was still blushing and shook her head, finishing her bite of food and glaring playfully at her. "Faith… That's just… God, do you always say stuff like that?" She shook her head again and poked shyly at her food. "You're okay though?"

"Sure B, five by five." Faith's answer was too casual, and she quickly stuffed part of a burrito in her mouth to keep from having to say anything else, doing her best to ignore the heavy weight hanging from her neck. She couldn't let Buffy get that close… not that quickly. She needed time. Fuck if Buffy hadn't saved her life tonight, probably more than she could count, but she'd said too much already. The walls had to go back up, she'd go nuts with all this touchy-feely-friendly crap.

Buffy, looking disappointed, but understanding, cast her eyes away. "Sure. Five by five."

Faith looked at her guiltily, and finished chewing on her burrito. Letting out a reluctant breath, she avoided eye-contact. "Hey, how about you? You okay?"

"Five by five." Buffy answered back with a small, sad smirk. Faith chuckled, then took another bite.

The next day, Faith watched from the next hallway as Buffy approached Scott again. _Note to self, find a reason to kick that boy's ass._

_**TBC**_


	10. Ch10: Manimal

Faith hadn't been there long

Faith hadn't been there long. Maybe a week, week and a half. She hadn't really kept track, especially as it had taken a good week or so to get another manager at her motel, in which she hadn't had to pay for the room. Buffy and she would patrol together at night, of course, but once she'd learned her way around, it hadn't been for long periods of time, despite the blonde trying too hard to make chit-chat with her.

"Nice place. Do you ever catch kids doing the diddy out here?" Faith smirked and gestured the graveyard, waggling her eyebrows yet again. Buffy had become somewhat used to the movements and such, so she didn't even blush this time.

"No. There's a smooch spot up by the woods. That's usually where kids go." She smirked and looked around for any signs of undead.

"Yeah? Bet you and Scott have been up there kickin' the gearshift." She grinned playfully, trying to hide the curiosity in her eyes.

Buffy gave her a look, completely oblivious to Faith's curious eyes, and shook her head. "Hardly. We've only been on a few dates."

Faith smirked even more. "But you like him. And when you think about him, you get that," she paused to inhale deeply, "good, low-down tickle, right?"

"Yeah, I guess, but…" Buffy smiled wryly for a moment before she caught what Faith actually meant, and the smile turned even more wry, the blond eying her. "How low…"

"You tell me, B." and Faith's smile turned into a broad, shit-eating grin, and her eyes sparkled.

"How about not, F." Buffy rolled her eyes, but a blush came to her cheeks and she looked away. "But he is… nice, and he's funny."

"And a total muffin." Faith added in, wondering why she was coming up with a few ways to trap said muffin in an oven.

"Blueberry. With the crunchies on top." Buffy sighed, her smile broad again as she spun the stake in her hand. "But my most favorite thing so far, is that he doesn't seem to be any kind of Hell Beast."

"B, all men are beasts." Faith shrugged casually, knowing full well that Buffy had been referring to her ex-lover vampire, supposedly still trapped in hell. Had he come back yet? Was Buffy keeping that from her already? That happening would only prove, once and for all, that the pendant was real, the real thing.

"Wow, okay, I was hoping not to get that cynical until I was at least forty."

Faith had to take a second to get back to where the conversation had been, tossing away thoughts of Angel and her future self. "B, it's not cynical. It's realistic. Every guy from… Manimal down to Mr. I-love-the-English-patient has beast in him. And I don't care how sensitive they act. They're all just in it for the chase." _Everyone is._ Faith looked at Buffy, noting how the blonde seemed to be silently agreeing with that small nodding to her head.

Buffy looked at Willow with brows raised. "I don't think that's true, that every guy is only in it for the chase."

As she turned to look at Scott approaching enthusiastically, she had to smile slightly and admit her own hope. "Well, it does seem like an awful generalization."

"Hey," he gave her a goofy smile and a wave, and Willow shot Oz a knowing grin. "That's basically what I stopped you for. Hey."

"Oh, okay. Hey." Buffy smiled back and moved a step closer. Watching as his two friends, Debbie and Pete, approached. The couple was adorable, and made Buffy smile to watch as they came up, Pete's arm draped across Debbie's shoulders, the girl holding a small bouquet of flowers.

Oz nodded at them, an arm around Willow himself, and offered a small smile and greeting. "How do, Debbie?"

"Hi Oz. Hey, you're not doing jazz band this year?" Debbie asked, leaning into her boyfriend and smiling curiously.

"Oh, can't take the pressure. It's not the music that's hard, it's the marching." He shrugged, his tone casual as usual. Willow felt him tense though, and she, and likely Buffy if she was paying attention, knew it was most likely for furry reasons.

Buffy raised her eyebrows at him, then frowned in confusion and looked between them. "Wait a minute, we have a marching jazz band?"

Oz didn't even miss a beat, though Debbie giggled a little. "Yeah, but, you know, since the best jazz is improvisational, we'd be going off in all directions, banging into floats. Scary."

Willow smiled at her boyfriend proudly, then at everyone else. "He's just being Oz."

"Pretty much full time."

Buffy blushed a little and spotted Debbie's flowers again, changing the subject. "Oh, those are pretty flowers."

"Thanks. Pete brought them for me." She smelled the flowers as emphasis, eyes sparkling, and Willow gushed a bit.

Pete shrugged, a little embarrassed. "Yeah. Well, I- I'm sure Scott does that kind of stuff for you too, Buffy."

"Oh, well, we're not up to flowers." Scott said absently, then a look of panic came to his face as he turned to Buffy. "Are we? Up to flowers? Did I miss flowers?"

Buffy chuckled a little, nudging him gently with her shoulder. "No. We're pre-posy. It's five-by-five." Willow looked at her strangely, but she ignored it as Scott nodded, relieved. Instead, Buffy reached for Scott's watch. "What time is it? Oh, I have to go see Mr. Platt today."

"The school counselor?" Debbie asked, shuddering. "Platt creeps me out. I would totally quit going, but I'm flunking senior bio, and my teacher says I have success issues."

"I just get to convince him that I'm Little Miss Stable so I can stay in school. No big." Buffy reached to grab her bag from the ground.

"Senior bio? I kinda aced that final." Oz observed, getting a look from Willow. He already knew what she was going to say, or something to the effect. The fact that he aced it by showing up to class. Raising his brows at Debbie, he continued before his girlfriend got the chance. "You want my notes, they're yours."

"Wow, thanks! That'd be great!" Debbie grinned, nodding, and Buffy kissed Scott goodbye quickly before waving to the others and rushing off to her appointment. After a quick goodbye, Oz and Willow moved off too, as the bell began to ring.

TBC


	11. Ch11: An Attack

Giles glared down at the paper… as much as the British man could manage glaring in his current state of worry, at the least

Giles glared down at the paper… as much as the British man could manage glaring in his current state of worry, at the least. "We simply must recheck every possible avenue of escape." Xander was glaring between the librarian and the paper, teenage arrogance and his own stubbornness managing a much more apparent glower.

"I'm telling you. It's a waste of time. I was here all night." He insisted, already moving toward the book cage with the man. Glancing back at the Watcher, and then at the swinging doors, his eyes widened just slightly at the sight of Oz and Willow entering the library.

Giles glanced up, saw the other two students, and managed a stiff, still-worried smile. "Right. Erm. Good to see you. No need to panic."

Oz looked over the Brit, and then his classmate, before watching the librarian with an almost blank expression, speaking in a deadpan. "Just a thought: poker- not your game."

Giles, of course, immediately removed his glasses to begin cleaning them, clearing his throat nervously. "Now, er, keep in mind that this is really no, erm, 'biggie' so to say. None at all. Except to say that, if it were… er… it might concern murder… last night. A student was found m- m- mauled… in the woods."

"Mauled." Oz's expression, impossibly, seemed to close off even more.

"Now, uh, much as I h- h- hate to think it, it could be the handiwork… handiwork of…" Giles stuttered, replacing his glasses with the knowledge that he couldn't continue cleaning them indefinitely.

"Of me." His tone wasn't any more expressive, and Willow clutched gently to his arm.

"Not you-you. Wolf you!"

"But it's not!" Xander exclaimed, moving back toward the book cage again. "Not wolf-you, not you-you." He shook his head at the undeniably Willow terminology. "The room was secured, the gate was locked, the window unbreak… able… and open! And open!" His voice broke even as he trotted back into full view, still pointing in disbelief and panic at the apparently open window.

Willow's eyes widened, her expressive nature seeming to double in the musician werewolf's ever-more closed-off response. "Oh god…" Giles quickly moves to check the window, see if it could possibly be open large enough for the wolf to get out, if the window itself was large enough even.

Xander's looking even more panicked as he wrings his hands, looking between the distressed couple and Giles at the window. "Not to freak. I rested my eyes now and then. That's all." He actually cringed at Willow's look of betrayal and Oz's brief flash of glare at him.

Giles gently stepped down from the window and pinned the boy with a glare, speaking quietly, slowly, so as to remain perfectly clear. "Just how long… _exactly_… did you rest your eyes for?"

"A little now, uh, a little then." Xander gulped, attempting his charming, goofy smile. It didn't work at all, of course. "But I never heard Oz leave… and he was here in the morning when I… um… when…"

Giles's eyes widened and his voice rose in anger, finishing the boy's sentence. "Woke up!"

He flinched again and hunched a little, attempting to sound defensive. "You could put it that way if you want to, Mr. Technical."

Willow's voice broke slightly in a frightened, horrified whisper. "Oh god…"

Buffy looked up as Faith entered the hallway, narrowly avoiding an angry Snider as she gestured for Buffy to go ahead of her into the library. She smirked a little to herself, feeling oddly good after her obligatory meeting with the school councilor. Her smile faded, however, when she saw the glum looks of those gathered there. Even Cordelia had managed to make it there before her. At least she beat Faith there… barely. Even as she sensed her fellow Slayer almost to the doors, she sighed and crossed her arms. "I'm afraid to ask."

Cordelia looked up at her and shrugged, looking disinterested as she practically lounged by Xander, filing her nails. "Oz ate someone last night." Buffy's eyes widened, and then she frowned, knowing for a fact that the wolf had been locked up.

Willow's response didn't help much. The redhead just glared at Cordelia, exclaiming, "He did not!"

Xander looked annoyed, despite staying close to his girlfriend. "Oz does not eat people." He frowned at the cheerleader's eye roll. "It's more werewolf play. You know, I bat you around a little bit, like a cat toy." He even accompanied that with a few hand gestures, trying to mime it out. Oz lowered his head, and Buffy looked at Giles inquiringly as Faith entered, in the midst of Xander babble. "I have harmless wolf fun. Is it Oz's fault that, you know, side effect, people get cut to ribbons, and maybe then he'll take a little nibble and…" At Willow's hurt look, and Oz's lowered head, he gulped, looking yet more embarrassed. "I'm not helping, am I?"

Giles, for the nth time in how long he didn't know, cleaned his glasses. "No. Oz may have gotten out of his cage last night."

Oz's tone was skeptical as he interjected doubtfully, "Or maybe there's another werewolf roaming the woods."

Faith looked between everyone curiously, then at Buffy, who looked almost as confused.

Giles continued. "Perhaps. Perhaps it's something else entirely."

Buffy only briefly looked at the other Slayer before approaching further, attempting to be comforting to her friends. "It's okay. We'll work together, and we'll figure this out." She let out a heavy breath, then frowned, trying to think. "If… if it was a werewolf, wouldn't there have been more than one attack? There was no chaos last night… no reports of rabid dogs. Nothing like, um… when he…"

"When he first got bitten." Faith added almost helpfully, leaning against a wall and observing. It was almost amusing, but for some reason, the heavy weight around her neck kept her from wanting to interject too much.

"Yes… um…" Giles looked between them, taking brief heart in what they'd pointed out. "Buffy, you, uh, you patrol the woods. The others can, er, check out the morgue."

Willow looked even more hopeful, clinging to the few shreds of hope they already had. "Right! We can see if it's a werewolf kill or not."

"And Faith, if you would watch, um… watch Oz tonight?" Giles continued, nodding briefly to Willow before turning to raise an eyebrow at the dark-haired Slayer hopefully. In the brief time since she'd come, he'd discovered it a bit more difficult to get the girl to cooperate than Buffy. Usually the blonde's imploring looks, or a bit of whining on Buffy's part, got Faith to do as asked though. The brunette just nodded, ignoring Oz's shocked look, and trying not to feel insulted at the expression.

"You're having a Slayer watch me now? Oh, good, we're not overreacting." His voice was still level, but laced with aggravation and sarcasm, overlaying pain. As he moved to leave, not wanting to listen to more of these plans, Willow gave Buffy a concerned look. As she reached to touch him on the shoulders, the Slayers exchanged an unreadable glance, trying to gauge the situation. Oz turned, facing his girlfriend, and mostly ignores her attempt at a reassuring smile. "Okay, uh, you know that thing where you bail in the middle of an upsetting conversation?" He paused, inhaling and trying to keep from being too rude to her. "I have to do that. It's kinda dramatic, I know, but… sometimes it's a necessary guy thing."

Willow looked pleading and understanding. "And I want you to… do the guy thing, but…" her eyes went to the clock, and his followed hers. It was almost sunset. His shoulders tensed, and looking dejected and angry all at once, the musician moved to the cage, the door squeaking in protest as he opened and closed it with a loud clang. "Oz…"

"Get away from the cage." He grumbled, practically growling. He wouldn't look at her, but could hear her barely squeaked what in shock. "It's gonna happen soon… get away from me."

Willow looked hurt by his tone, watching him turn his back to her and move to assure that the window was closed and locked this time. Biting her lip to reign in her emotions, she moved away, startled when Faith gently laid a hand on her shoulder. The brunette was looking at Buffy, unsure, before she turned to Willow and said quietly, still sounding uncomfortable being comforting, "Don't worry Red. I'll take care of your boy."

Giles had managed to get a-hold of another tranquilizer gun, this one a bit smaller than the rifle that they kept at the library for Oz's wolf-nights. A stake was tucked into the waistband of her pants, within easy reach, as she swung the unusual weight of the tranq gun in her left hand, leaving her right free for slaying. It just… it didn't feel right. She didn't know what it was, but she could almost swear, though without reason, that it wasn't Oz that had gotten out and attacked that boy last night. When there was the slightest rustle of sound behind her, and then a moment later to the side, Buffy forgot her confused concerns and held her hand ready for the stake, or to aim the tranq gun. Supposedly, it was going to take two shots from this smaller one to take down a werewolf.

The blonde could almost make out the figure of something, someone, rushing past and away off to the side, and without hesitation dashes after it. Not a vampire. Vampires didn't run from her like that, its movements were too erratic to be a vampire smart enough to rum from her. She steadied the gun in her hands, praying that she didn't shoot herself with it accidentally. She was a Slayer. Slayers weren't meant to deal with guns… they were meant to wield stakes and knives, crossbows maybe… but not guns.

She noticed the thing, figure, whatever, turning slightly, and quickly moving to rush her. Gulping, she raised the tranquilizer gun and fired a shot, praying again that she hit the mark. Whatever it was stumbled as the dart thudded into it, and as her Slayer senses screamed again that this definitely wasn't human, she shot again, noticing the human-like body already beginning to fall. As the body collapsed on the ground, twisting slightly, she stepped forward, eyes widening. The snarling, feral creature was… Angel.

_**TBC**_


	12. Ch12: Wild Surprises

The wolf was growling, a feral, insane growl that over the course of a few hours Faith had grown accustomed to

The wolf was growling, a feral, insane growl that over the course of a few hours Faith had grown accustomed to. It was a werewolf growl, and as much as it made her inner Slayer want to get violent with the thing, the wolf was in there behind the bars, and she was out here, bored and dancing around a bit as she tried to listen to a few tunes. It wasn't all bad, even if her mind occasionally wandered toward where Buffy probably was, out there, doing the job both of them should be taking care of. The tap on her shoulder startled her, she hadn't even noticed anyone approaching, and without thought Faith spun and backhanded whoever had crept up on her. Damn wolf better not've gotten out again or she was going to put him to sleep the hard way…

"Oh!" Faith's eyes widened as Buffy exclaimed just a bit and stumbled back into the card catalogue, steadying herself and working her jaw carefully.

"Oh! Gah, Buffy! Are you okay?" Faith flicked her headphones off, eyes widening and approaching a step, torn between laughter at the girl's expression, and concern at having hit her. Oddly enough, there was no input from her jewelry-formed conscience. "What're you doing here?"

"Ugh, bleeding internally, apparently… but I'll live." She worked her jaw again, holding it tenderly and raising her eyebrows at Faith. She glanced at the still working CD player, the sounds of Nine Inch Nails still pouring from the headphones, and Faith belatedly turned it off completely. "Guess you didn't hear me. I… uh… came to give you the rest of the night off."

"Get out of jail free, huh? How come?" Faith looked at her casually, noting the twig and leaf from the woods still in the girl's hair. Buffy looked spooked.

"Couldn't sleep." Buffy shrugged, and carefully took off her jacket, settling the smaller tranq gun on the table and glancing away. "I thought I'd… um… cram for my French test."

Faith held back a snort. For someone who'd kept her Slaying a secret from her mom for so long, Buffy was a terrible liar. Maybe it was just that the girl looked like she'd seen a ghost. Letting out a breath, Faith stretched and turned toward the door, tossing the keys to the cage behind her at Buffy as she did so. "Cool. I was going kinda crazy in here, but this way I can get a few stakings in before sunrise. You're okay on your own here?" She paused just barely at the doors, wondering if she really wanted Buffy to confide in her. The part that was reaching to the girl and had taken minor comfort in the blonde Slayer over the deal with Kakistos, was waiting impatiently for Buffy to just come clean… and the other half of Faith wanted the blonde to keep her drama to herself.

"Sure… five-by-five." Buffy claimed distantly, and there was the sound of the keys being set on the table. "Knock yourself out, but, you know, not literally."

"Sure thing B." Faith grumbled, letting out her sigh only after the doors had closed. Looking at the small windows in the doors, Faith debated between sticking around to spy, or just going out. The small tingle running up her spine decided it, and she turned to go take out some pent up energy and frustration out on lingering vamps. Buffy wasn't going to tell her anything, and would just get jumpy from her being around, so fuck being nosy, she didn't have the damned patience tonight.

It was early morning when Giles returned to the library, steaming mug in hand, with the sun's early rays streaming through several of the windows. He glanced briefly into the cage, confirming that Oz was asleep and in the form of a teenage-boy, before taking the nearby keys and unlocking the gate. Spread over the table were a few piles of books, cards from his card catalogue ranging as well, often used as book markers, and a few lying forgotten on the floor. Slumped in a chair slept Buffy, one of the books still gently gripped in her hands. He approached quietly, bending a bit to pick up one of the books, and Buffy awoke softly, eyes staring up at him.

"M… morning…" She yawned, sitting forward a bit, and her eyes widened as she saw the books still splayed over the table, in obvious sight, one in his hand. "Um…"

"Mystery of Acathla?" He raised his eyebrows at her, settling it atop one of the piles. In her hands another caught his attention. "Exploring Demon Demensions…."

"I… er…. Heh…" Her eyes darted around, and Buffy hastily set the book on the table, not even bothering to mark where she'd fallen asleep reading. "That is to say… Er… What would you say if, um, I told you I had a dream? About Angel. And it, um, brought up some questions…"

"I'd say it was to be expected." He smiled softly to her, lifting his mug to his lips, and speaking once more before sipping. "Must've been some dream. I was unaware that you even knew what a card index is for."

Buffy blushed slightly, attempting to straighten the stacks of books and not looking him in the eye as she clarified a little. "I dreamt he came back."

"Also understandable and to be expected. After Jenny was killed, I had dreams," he paused and sipped again, "that she was still alive. That I had saved her."

Buffy paused again, hearing him pull back a chair and sit with her. "I… I don't know. It was so vivid. Almost… Slayer-dream vivid. I… three-dimensional, surround sound, hills are alive…" She stopped abruptly as she realized that she'd used Jenny's metaphor.

Buffy could see him take off his glasses and consider them for a moment. When he finally spoke, it was careful, quiet, and she ached to hear his voice like that. He was the closest thing she had to a father, with her own so scarce. "Do you believe it was a prophesy?"

"I don't know." Her own voice was quiet, and she swallowed hard. "I… it just brought up some doubts, some questions. Is it… is it even possible?"

"Well, there's no record of anyone returning from a demon dimension once the… erm… gate was closed. I- I can't imagine how it could happen… or why." He looked at her, settling his glasses back on his face. Her expression prompted him further. "If… if he could, if he did… I can't say what he'd be like. From what is known about that dimension, it- it would suggest a world of brutal torment. And time moves quite differently there, so…"

"I remember." Buffy didn't grin, not relishing in her own brief foray into the underworld. "So he would've been down there for hundreds of years." Giles could only nod. "Of torture."

"It would take someone of extraordinary… will and character to survive that and, uh, retain any semblance of self." Giles swallowed hard, looking at her sadly. "Most likely, he'd be… be a monster."

Buffy didn't say out loud that it wouldn't be the same monster that Giles remembered, that was cruel, and she didn't know if it was true. Angel had been feral, wild, when he woke back up, chained to the wall in the mansion. But there'd been nothing in his behavior to tell her if, behind that wild, angry, almost frightened, behavior was Angel or Angelus. Could the centuries of torture have robbed him of a soul too? "So… a lost cause."

Giles took a breath and swallowed hard again. "Maybe. Maybe not. In my experience, there are two types of… erm… monster. The first can, erm, be redeemed, or more importantly: wants to be redeemed." Buffy looked at him again, eyes sad. "The, erm, second type is… um… void of humanity. It cannot respond to reason… or love."

Did that mean that Angel couldn't be redeemed? He was completely wild, couldn't even understand reason, much less respond to it. But that fear, the whimpering that she'd heard when he'd finally curled away from her, giving in to being shackled, did that mean that, somewhere under there was someone that did understand something other than pain and torture? The door to the library opened and Willow breezed in suddenly, making Buffy and Giles spin to stare at her.

"Hey. I thought Faith was on wolf-duty." Her voice sounded so chipper as to almost be hyper, and her eyes kept darting around the room. Buffy noticed that though her hands shook a little, she managed not to crush the doughnut box in her grip.

"Oh. Um, change of plans." Buffy smiled just as nervously, standing to move closer to Willow.

"Glazed or cake? It's fun to watch them make them." Willow gestured idly with the box, letting Buffy take it from her as they both headed for the table that Giles had just vacated with the stack of books in his hands. "They use this spritzy thing, and then they drop the batter into this…"

Buffy settled a hand on her friend's shoulder, raising her eyebrows. "Couldn't sleep?"

"I've been at Mr. Doughnut since the T.V. did that fuzzy snow thing." Willow caught Buffy's eyes, and the blonde could see the worry and panic in them. The sound of the gate closing announced Oz joining them from the book cage. "Jelly doughnut?"

Oz looked at the box that Willow was gesturing, where Buffy had set it down. He also noticed the last few books that Giles was collecting from the table and putting away for the blonde. "Everything alright?"

Buffy looked between them, then at Willow. Much as she'd like her best friend's opinion and shoulder over what she'd encountered the last night, Willow had her own man-problems to deal with right now, potentially as dangerous. "Yeah. Uh, so what happened with the inspection of the body?"

"There was fainting." Willow joked, though her voice sounded strangled, and she picked up the box to offer around at the other three again, Giles now watching her as well. "Anyone? They're yummy-delicious!"

"Willow, come on…" Buffy frowned, getting a bad feeling. Oz sat, watching as well, the same feeling of doom in the pit of his own stomach. "Was it a werewolf?" Willow only sat the box down again, not looking eager to explain. "Was it a vampire? Come on Wills, the cops say mauled or wild beast for every death out there they can't explain."

"It… it was inconclusive." Willow grumbled, sitting heavily next to Oz.

"H… How could it not be conclusive? Was he bit? What did it look like?" Buffy had the sudden fear that it was Angel instead. She'd found him in those same woods, he was out of control. Her heart sped up, and as Giles made a calming noise, indicating to let Willow finish, Buffy glanced at the redhead and her musician boyfriend, who looked even more unresponsive than usual. "Sorry…"

"Let her finish." Giles indicated again, gesturing for Willow to continue her halting explanation and report.

Buffy hadn't even managed to stomach any lunch, even the Jello that Scott had claimed wasn't nutritionally sound enough. Pushing through the heavy drapes blocking off the direct sunlight, Buffy strode softly into the mansion. Angel still crouched, shackled to the wall, whimpering and pulling as far away from her and the ambient sunlight she had briefly let in. It wouldn't have even reached him. She stopped, watching him carefully, and found no indication he even noticed her. Slowly, she approached, lifting a hand and reaching carefully for the tattoo.

"Angel?" Her voice is soft, caring, if slightly afraid. She almost didn't want to know what his reaction would be, and the lack of one so far wasn't helping her confidence. Slowly, she approached a bit further, gently brushing his shoulder with her hand… and had to jump back quickly as he spun and lashed out at her, roaring. As she sat, still on the floor where she'd stumbled out of reach, he glared, growling deeply at her, before turning back to his whimpering.

Faith clutched tightly at the pendant around her neck. She'd come to the school near lunchtime in hopes of some kind of news. She didn't like the tension that had been rolling off of Buffy's little group of friends, and the blonde hadn't been doing well either. It was putting Faith on edge, and she'd woken early enough to hopefully at least catch a bit of information before school let out. When she'd seen Buffy rushing from the campus, however, she'd debated only a moment before following the other Slayer. Either it would mean a good slay that she could help out with… or the half-fear, half-hope that the necklace was real, that woman-her had been real, would be confirmed… maybe. Now, she leaned against the side entrance of a mansion, just outside of the draperies, part-way to a heart attack. The necklace was practically pulsating, though it didn't have that heavy, burning weight it sometimes got when she was close to screwing up.

Angel. That… the vampire… the vampire boyfriend that had been in hell, was back. It… it was all true. Taking a deep breath, she peeked in again, attempting to calm her heart, to forget briefly that it meant she was walking a fine edge between remaining who she was, and turning into a murdering, bad-guy. Buffy was on her ass on the ground, staring at the mostly naked vampire she had chained there, near tears. Faith couldn't really blame the girl, though it wouldn't have been her reaction. It didn't look like there was much of Angel to rejoice over. Gulping in another deep breath, she strode in, throwing caution to the wind and hoping she wasn't about to get slugged.

"It'll be okay B." Her voice was soft, and she stayed out of swinging range as she moved toward the blonde Slayer. Buffy whipped around to stare at her, then at the hand offered to help her up. "It looks bad, yeah. Fuck, it looks like shit… but it'll be okay."

"Faith… I…" Panic, sorrow, and anger warred in Buffy's eyes, and Faith tried not to flinch away from them. She wasn't used to this feelings lovey-dovey shit.

"It's Angel, right? The big-bad beau from last year?" Her voice was soft, non-committal, and she tried to look less threatening and badass. It didn't work very well, but Buffy could see the nervous jittering. "Fuck, B, it's weird as fuck to me, but it's gonna be okay. Ya don't have to blubber." She gave the best smile she could manage, though it wasn't what she usually pulled off. "He's in there somewhere."

"Faith… I…" it was just a repeat of what Buffy had said a moment ago, and Faith wondered if Buffy was still debating on whether or not to kick her ass. She braced herself, and found a dejected blonde not quite looking at her. "He's… no one can know that." She looked back, shuddered at the renewed growling, and began to move toward the drapes, Faith following.

"Don't worry B. I ain't gonna go tellin' no one." Faith tried to sound comforting. "And… er… I'll even help ya. Go to school, do you're responsible, goody-girl thing, and I'll try to scrounge up some blood for 'im, yeah? Then, later, you can tell me what the fuck's going on."

Buffy stared at her for a moment, before a soft smile graced her lips. She hadn't thought Faith could be so caring or sensitive, and couldn't help hugging her as she smiled. "Thanks Faith… I… I'll try to explain… I don't really know… I…" She struggled with the words, her mind still in shambles over it, before Faith rolled her eyes and nudged her off in the direction of the school again. "Thanks."

"Whatever B. Get goin', kay?" She rolled her eyes again and gestured away before turning toward town. Now how the fuck was she supposed to get blood for the damn demon?

_**TBC**_

_**Okay, so as those who were reading the story, the chapter additions have slowed down. Well, that's because I had a lot of it written already on AFF and have just now transferred it over. This is the latest chapter, just written, so from here on out it'll be all new stuff. Sorry if it needs editing.**_


	13. Ch13: Daytime Slice'n'Dicer

_**And here I give you the two chaps up on AFF already. They're both kind of short, but they're what's written. I consolidated them into one, longer chapter here, with the too-common-to-buffy-fics divider added in. They were both kind of short, and what happened between them was pretty much just what you'd see in the episode anyway.**_

Faith casually slipped the quart container of blood she'd been able to get off of the butcher under the table. It was beef-blood, but that was the best they would get for now, and she felt Buffy's thankful grasp over her fingers before the container slipped from one hand to the next and then into the blonde's bag.

"… This creature is especially brutal. I believe the phrase coined by the coroner when describing Mr. Platt was 'pureed'. But he did confirm that Platt was killed shortly before Buffy found him." Giles explained, cleaning his glasses and trying not to dwell too much on the man's body.

Faith looked at the blonde, surprised at that bit of information. No one had mentioned that Buffy was the one that found the guy. The girl didn't look too broken up, though there was a bit more stress around the line of her mouth, but then, a supernatural killing, something they were both familiar with, didn't exactly compare to Angel returning from hell. "So a daytime slice'n'dicer."

"Yes!" Everyone turned abruptly to stare at Willow, who'd practically leapt from her seat with the exclamation. Faith smirked and raised her eyebrows, while Buffy and Giles looked dumbfounded. "Er… I mean… terrible… I just… and…"

"It's okay Willow. We're all happy to hear it wasn't Oz." Buffy said with a soft smile, and Faith could see the relief in the blonde's eyes as well. Meant that it couldn't be the wild vampire either. The brunette fidgeted in her seat, attempting to ignore the niggling sensation from her necklace, and not think too hard in that she, a _Slayer_, was helping to rehabilitate Angel, Buffy's ex-boyfriend and _vampire_. Okay, not so much with the helping to rehabilitate yet, all she'd done was sweet-talk some blood out of the butcher, but it was close enough. Faith's inner babble and aggravation was cut short with Buffy's next observance. "Speaking of which, shouldn't he be here soon? It's almost sundown."

"I am sure that Oz will be in shortly." Giles offered with a somewhat relieved smile of his own. "Our task now is to determine what sort of killer we _are_ dealing with. Clearly, we're looking for a depraved, sadistic animal."

The doors swung open to allow the werewolf in and he raised a single hand slightly. "Present."

When Willow jumped up to rush to him, nearly pushing Giles aside in her eagerness, Buffy and Faith exchanged glances. Buffy had a small smile on, and Faith only nodded. She was sure that if Angel was coherent enough to understand that he'd been let off the hook, and tame enough to not bite the blonde, Buffy would have done the same to Angel. Faith would be wondering, privately, if Angel was even worth the effort of their attempts at help, except for that she already knew, from her other self's information, that he would recover, and be a brief pain in her side when it came to the blonde. She wasn't going to screw up, though. She was damned sure of it. As freaked out by everything as she was, she was determined to not allow those things she'd been warned of come to pass. She wasn't going to kill a human, and she sure as hell wasn't going to join the other side. Even if it meant cozying up to and spoon-feeding a feral, disgusting vampire.

"I…. it's a kill in the day monster!" Willow was asserting to her boyfriend, eyes bright and excited. "A hundred percent for sure."

The musician's eyes and shoulders seemed to loose a level of tense stress that was his only admission to intense relief. A single, simple, "Okay," left his lips in response.

"Now, what we must figure out is what it is that connects the two of them, Mr. Platt and Jeff Orkin." He nodded his greeting to Oz, looking a bit relieved as well, which was enough for the stoic musician, it seemed. "For Platt to have been attacked in his office, alone, while there are also plenty of students here to stand as victims as well, there must be some sort of connection."

Faith raised her hand and offered something fairly obvious, smirking. "Missing internal organs?" Hey, it could be a valid point. Weren't there demons that harvested organs?

"Besides that." Buffy said, rolling her eyes and nudging the other Slayer. It made Faith smirk just a bit more.

"Debbie." Everyone turned to Oz, surprised at his answer. "Well, victim number one, Jeff. He was in jazz band with us. They used to horse around."

"They were screwing?" Faith looked a bit surprised, then impressed, and everyone turned to stare at her incredulously before looking again at Oz.

"Well, I don't think so." Oz paused, blinking a few times. "But he hid her music comp book once."

"And we know that Debbie knew Platt." Buffy chimed in, nodding and nudging Faith again. "I mean, she was seeing him and way vocal about not having love for the guy."

"Add this and stir. I just saw Debbie a minute ago sporting a nasty black eye." Oz added, putting an arm gently around Willow, relief still filling him from the news that he hadn't gotten out. Willow looked at him in confusion. "I was lending my old notes, 's why I was late."

"Okay," Willow nodded, turning back to the others, "so pretend Debbie wanted Platt dead. Maybe he fought back."

Buffy stood, shaking her head and trying to think. "No. Platt was dead in an instant. He didn't even drop his cigarette." She paused and let out a breath, then frowned. "Now… what if boyfriend Pete's the one doling out the punishment?"

Giles looked at Buffy, then frowned around at everyone. Faith was already standing. "We should find them both immediately." He gestured to the dark-haired Slayer. "Faith, you and I shall team. Willow, you'll go with Buffy."

Oz looked at them, and then at himself. "And I'll lock myself in the cage. I er… Debbie and I met in the quad."

Willow hugged him quickly before moving out with Buffy, nodding that they'd start from there, with Faith following quickly after Giles.

~_**BtVS**_~_**BtVS**_~_**BtVS**_~_**BtVS**_~_**BtVS**_~_**BtVS**_~_**BtVS**_~

Faith slipped quickly out of the library now that she'd assured that Willow, Xander, and Giles all had the handling of the now thoroughly unconscious werewolf under control. She knew, logically, that the blonde Slayer would be fine, that she would survive simply from knowing that there was a possibility of their slaying and her fucking up with the future… but she still couldn't help but worry over that the other thing, that had been fighting Oz, was still out there and possibly mauling the blonde. Instinct drew her outside, and she saw Buffy frozen in place, holding a shivering, half-naked man. One that happened to have a vaguely familiar tattoo, and dark hair… with chains dangling from his wrists.

She approached as slowly as she possibly could, unsure of how the creature would react to someone else nearing, not wanting to spook it into tearing out Buffy's neck. He looked tame, if pathetic, for the moment, but he was still a vampire, as her senses were currently screaming at her. "B… Buffy…." His voice was broken, soft, but Faith still heard it, and she paused where she was, waiting for the other Slayer to do something.

"Angel, we have to get you back to the mansion. They can't find you out here." Buffy whispered, keeping still and quiet herself, much like Faith had. She hesitantly smiled over the shivering shoulder at the brunette. "This is Faith. She's going to help us hide you, for now. She got you some blood."

The creature spun, faster than Faith had thought he'd be able, and she reached for a stake that wasn't currently on her, finding the tranque gun instead. Maybe it'd work on him, if he turned on them and she was fast enough. The deep, haunted brown eyes bore into her, and Faith, for a split second, understood what Buffy had seen in him, how he was different. In that second, she barely saw the hint of his fractured, broken soul. "Hey Fang, lets get you back to your nice, big mansion, yeah? Wicked cool stone walls. Protection from sunlight when it rises. All that jazz. Then ya can drink some disgusting red stuff while B tells me what the fuck is happening."

He continued to stare at her, warily, before Buffy gently touched his arm. "It's okay. You get used to her." Faith frowned at the blonde when Angel turned to stare at the original Slayer, wondering what exactly that meant.

By the time Faith had gotten Angel settled back into the mansion, blood warmed and served, and the manacles off of his wrists, Buffy was finally joining them. She didn't mention anything regarding what had happened with the two dead students, or Oz, and only slumped into a chair to watch as Angel crouched in a corner, looking frightened and confused. Other than her Slayer senses telling her that it was a demon, kill it kill it, Faith thought he looked somewhat like a monkey that had just had the shit scared out of it.

"I told them that you decided to go out and patrol, to burn off some energy." Buffy finally said, breaking the uncomfortable, cold silence that had been building while the slayers stared at the be-souled vampire, and he stared right back at them. Faith changed her gaze to Buffy, fidgeting uncomfortably. Patrol sounded really good right now. Get the blood pumping, relieve that urge to slay… maybe return to the world of sanity for a bit. "You… I… he saved me."

"No shit B. What else? The broken chains just a form of artistic expression? They represent the shackles of humanity?" Faith responded sarcastically, ignoring the look of utter shock and memory on Buffy's face. "Or maybe he just got himself broken out and followed your damn scent. Do we know if he ran into anyone? Is that why he won't drink it?"

"Pete almost killed me… and he saved me." Buffy whispered, unable to confirm or deny that statement, looking down into her lap. Faith winced, mentally berating herself for making the blonde feel guilty. Likely, if it had happened, it happened in the other world, time, whatever.

_Angel is not evil. Keep telling yourself that. The vampire is not evil. The vampire is not evil. Fucking A this is fucked up. The vampire is not evil._ Faith thought to herself, changing her gaze over to Angel, who was staring at her fearfully. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she crouched where she stood, watching his eyes track her, and mimed drinking from the mug. He stared at her more, and when she nodded and gestured again, finally began to drink his blood. "You're getting the damn blood from now on, B. That's nasty." She shivered and stood, slowly so as not to startle the damned thing, and approached Buffy. "So he got out… but he's also not all feral bite-y snarl-y anymore, so that's progress. What ya wanna do now?"

"Sleep." Buffy whimpered, shaking her head and looking up at Faith as if the brunette had all the answers.

The darker Slayer, in turn, snorted. "Right. You wanna sleep, I wanna slay, and that thing wants to look like a freaked out chimp… but one of us's gotta stay here an' watch him tonight, cause we obviously can't lock 'im up right now. Morning comes, he can't leave anyway, so we're cool for a rest then, but we got a few hours afore that happens."

"Go and slay, Faith. He's my responsibility." Buffy sighed, looking at the vampire in a pained, but hopeful way.

Swallowing hard, she turned and readied to head out and follow that advice. The weight around her neck felt warm and uncomfortable, and clenching her fist, she spoke as she reached the exit, hoping that a few words of comfort and reminder would ease Buffy's pain, and the reminder that weighed on her so much. "B… Buffy… it was never your fault. The vampire's maybe… maybe the gypsies'… but it wasn't yours, and it wasn't Angel's. He ain't the same as the vampire… Angel's a person, a man… much as I don't like admittin' that and much as our instincts say otherwise." She let out her deep breath and looked over at where Buffy had turned to face her. "It wasn't your fault, wasn't his. When it came down to it, you did what you had to. What you _had_ to, Slayer. That there is Angel, the man. It ain't just a demon. Don't let it tear you up. Slayer I know is stronger'n that."

Buffy just continued staring at her as she nodded once more and walked out, ready to take the brief chance of a last minute patrol. The weight around her neck wasn't so heavy or warm anymore, much more comfortable, and though she felt awkward and mushy for having said that to the blonde, a strange feeling of accomplishment had settled in as well.

_Fuck this mushy bullshit is complicated. Damn necklace._

_**TBC**_


End file.
